b 

Ube 'ClniversttB of Chicago 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF STATE COURSES 
OF STUDY FOR RURAL ELE- 
MENTARY SCHOOLS 



A DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY 

OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND LITERATURE 

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 



BY 

CHARLES MYRON REINOEHL 



Private Edition, Distributed By 

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



Reprinted from 
United Slates Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education Bulletin, No. 42 

1922 



Ube lantversitp of Cbicago 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF STATE COURSES 
OF STUDY FOR RURAL ELE- 
MENTARY SCHOOLS 



A DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY 

OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND LITERATURE 

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 



BY 

CHARLES MYRON REINOEHL 



Private Edition, Distributed By 

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



Reprinted from 

United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education Bulletin, No. 42 

1922 






Digitized by the InterraetrArchive 
in 2011 with funfflf^fforn 
The Library of Cfiff^ess 



http://www.archive.org/details/analyticsurveyofOOrein 



CONTENTS. 



Letter of transmittal V 

Chapter I. — Introductory curricula studies 1 

Statement of problems 1 

Sources of materials 2 

Preparation of courses 2 

Functional value of courses in use 3 

Reasons for nonintelligent use of courses of study 5 

Improving the course of study r . . 6 

A nationalized curriculum 7 

Summary and recommendations 8 

Chapter II. — Character and content of general suggestions 10 

Topics treated 10 

Aims of the school 11 

Methods of teaching and of study 12 

Plan of the course of study 13 

Standardization of schools 14 

Other general topics 15 

Summary and recommendations 15 

Chapter III. — Organization of one-teacher schools. . . , 18 

Material 18 

Number of daily recitation periods 19 

Alternation and combination of grades 20 

The average daily program . 22 

Distribution of recitation time 23 

A program of 24 class periods 27 

Summary and recommendations 29 

Chapter IV.— Relative importance of elementary school subjects 32 

Names for school subjects 32 

Number of outlines provided 33 

Method of measuring the length of courses 33 

Number of pages 34 

Grade space assigned to each subject 36 

Subject space assigned to each grade 37 

Percentage of space allotment 38 

The average course of study 40 

Variable nature of distribution of space 41 

Relative prominence of subjects 42 

Summary and recommendations 44 ' 

Chapter V. — -Selection and correlation of content materials 47 

Problem — Method of investigation 47 

Types and selection of topics 49 

Relationship of listed topics 51 

Number of topics 53 

Grade distribution of topics 54 

Grouping of subjects and of topics 58 

in 



IV CONTENTS. 

Chapter V. — Selection and correlation of content materials — Continued. Page. 

Correlation of subjects and topics , 58 

A program of correlation 60 

Summary and recommendations 62 

Chapter VI. — Analytic survey of English courses 65 

Reading. 65 

Language : 67 

Spelling 70 

Handwriting 72 

Chapter VII. — Analytic survey of arithmetic courses 74 

Recommendations 77 

Chapter VIII. — Analytic survey of courses in citizenship 78 

History 78 

Civics 83 

Manners and morals 85 

Chapter IX. — Analytic survey of elementary science subjects 88 

Geography 88 

Hygiene 92 

Physical education 94 

Nature study 95 

Chapter X. — Analytic survey of industry and art courses. 98 

Agriculture 98 

Household arts 102 

Manual arts 103 

Drawing 104 

Music 106 

Chapter XI. — Books and reference materials 108 

Reference list Ill 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Education, 
Washington, B.C., February 17, 1923. 

Sir : There is an increasing tendency in recent years among public 
officials responsible for preparing State courses of study to consider 
in their preparation the organization and special needs of small 
rural schools, particularly those of the one- and two- teacher variety. 
Courses prepared in conformity with the eight-grade organization, 
with a teacher for each grade, based on the experiences and needs of 
city children and on the expectation of a nine or nine and a half month 
school term, are obviously of little value to the inexperienced and 
immature teachers who abound in the open-country schools, in which 
one teacher has charge of eight grades, and the term is often six 
months or less in length. The growing realization of the fact that 
these different school conditions require different content of the course 
of study and different teaching practice has led to a widespread inter- 
est in the preparation of a new curriculum which will be based prima- 
rily on the needs of rural children and the organization of rural schools. 
The State is the logical authority from which to expect guidance in 
this direction. 

Mi*. Reinohl, formerly rural supervisor of schools for the State of 
Montana, has made a careful analysis of the different State courses 
of study and has included in his report much information which will, 
in my opinion, be of value in the preparation of State and other 
courses of study for use in rural schools. I, therefore, recommend the 
accompanying manuscript for publication as a bulletin of the Bureau 
of Education. 

Respectfully submitted. 

JNO. J. TlGERT, 

Commissioner. 
The Secretary of the Interior. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR 
RURAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 



Chapter I. 
INTRODUCTORY CURRICULA STUDIES. 



STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS. 

This investigation undertakes to analyze and interpret the character 
and content of State courses of study for rural elementary schools. 
It presents in tabular form the aims, subject matter, and materials 
most frequently recommended in these courses. It seeks to point out 
the great need for wisely selected materials of instruction and for 
changes in the preparation of new courses justified by social progress. 

Just as reform in any line may be said to proceed from what is to 
what ought to be, so courses that are rebuilt must be based upon 
existing courses and must be changed to meet the needs of this "new 
day." This rebuilding requires (1) detailed information of courses 
of study in use, about which little has been known, and (2) definite 
information regarding the facts which country folks ought to know 
to live successful, happy, and remunerative lives. It is the purpose 
of this survey to give full information regarding the content of State 
courses and to interpret the findings in the light of progressive opinion 
as set forth in recent pedagogical literature bearing on rural education. 
Specifically the major problems covered by this survey are: 

1. What is the character and content of State courses of study for 
rural elementary schools % 

2. What do these courses have to offer regarding the most effec- 
tive organization of one-teacher schools ? 

3. What is the relative importance of elementary school subjects 
as revealed by their prominence in State courses ? 

4. To what extent do aims and content materials in State courses, 
as determined by their frequency of appearance in the outlines, meet 
present needs of rural elementary education % 

5. What contributions have the most widely recommended supple- 
mentary books and materials to offer for the improvement of rural 

oourses of study ? 

1 



2 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOE RURAL SCHOOLS. 

SOURCES OF MATERIALS. 

The survey is based upon the State courses of study for use in 
rural elementary schools. They were available from all but four 
States — California, Florida, Arkansas, and Rhode Island. 

Although such terms as teacher's manual, handbook, monograph, 
or syllabi are used in certain States, the most common term and the 
term used in this survey is "State courses of study. " 

All but 8 of the 44 courses used were issued since 1914. Thirty- 
five appeared within the years 1915 and 1917. By January 1, 1920, 
twenty-one had been revised or reprinted. Of these, only 40 per cent 
show marked revisions as to point of view, content, organization, or 
adaptation to rural schools. The 44 courses surveyed may, therefore, 
be said to represent, to a very large extent, the courses still in use 
in rural schools. 

With few exceptions the outlines in all subjects for any one State 
are bound in one volume. In a few States the outlines for various 
subjects are bound separately. Separate binding tends to allow for 
fuller treatment, while it has little effect on the relative number of 
pages given to each subject. 

The publications are remarkably uniform in size of print and of 
page. There are only slight variations from a 6-by-9-inch page. The 
large body of the material in State courses is usually printed in 11- 
point type. Variations from this size of type are no greater for the 
outlines of one subject than for those of another. These facts made 
it possible to compare the length of outlines by the number of pages 
given to each subject and to each grade. 

The body of the material used would make a volume of nearly 
10,000 (9,431) pages, one-tenth of which is given to materials aside 
from the outlines of the subjects themselves, such as daily programs, 
plan of the course, and libraries (see Ch. II). 

PREPARATION OF COURSES. 

There are variations in the methods used in preparing State courses. 
The number of writers varies all the way from 50 contributors in 
Arizona to State department members in most States. Some courses, 
like the one in Illinois, have gone through a series of revisions; others 
are made without any reference to revisions. Specialists have con- 
tributed largely to some courses, but it frequently happens that 
courses so prepared are not properly coordinated and correlated by 
an editor or editing committee. College and normal-school professors 
and city superintendents have frequently helped to write courses; 
county superintendents and grade teachers, occasionally; successful 



INTRODUCTORY CURRICULA STUDIES. 3 

rural teachers, seldom, if ever. The practical wisdom, of live rural 
teachers standing next to the children and everyday life of the people 
is seldom sought. Here is a fruitful source of valuable information 
in curriculum building that has not been utilized. 

The courses which the writer considers best adapted to rural schools 
have been prepared under the direction of a selected few in super- 
visory positions and with the cooperative assistance of selected teach- 
ers. The Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Iowa, and Montana 
courses are among those so prepared. In their preparation the co- 
operation of selected county superintendents, rural leaders, and 
successful teachers was sought in contributing suggestions as to the 
materials to include or to omit. Timely and current materials in our 
present social and national life have in consequence been included, 
while much traditional and less valuable material has been elimi- 
nated. In these courses, too, the influence of studies on elimination 
made by the Iowa 1 and the Minnesota 2 committees, and by Wilson, 3 
by Jessup, 4 and by others are seen in the eliminations recommended 
and in the choice of materials. The Montana course, in arithmetic, 
for example, contains, with some modifications, a list of eliminations 
suggested by these investigations. This work of preparing courses 
adapted to the needs of rural schools has scarcely begun. In all 
probability this work can best be done by members of State depart- 
ments or supervisors, who seek the cooperation of all those live rural 
teachers and those supervisory and administrative workers in the 
States most competent to contribute suggestions, and who utilize all 
useful information from scientific investigations and professional books 
and periodicals. 

FUNCTIONAL VALUE OF COURSES IN USE. 

The Louisiana, Kansas, and Montana courses were prepared for 
use in rural schools exclusively. The Arizona course was planned to 
meet the needs of graded and city schools only, but it is also used 
by rural teachers. The Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma 
courses were prepared primarily to meet the needs of rural schools. 
All other State courses included in this survey were prepared for use 
in all public elementary schools without regard to their location. 

Letters were written to each State department of public instruc- 
tion making inquiry as to the extent of distribution and use of the 

'Second Report of the Committee on Elimination of Subject Matter, 1916. Iowa State Teachers' 
Association. 

2 Elimination in Elementary Course of Study, 1914. Minnesota Educational Association. 

'Wilson, H. B., and Wilson, G. M. Motivation of School Work, p. 180. 

* Jessup, " Economy of Time in Arithmetic," in Elementary School Teacher, vol. 14, p. 4fii (June, 
1914). 



4 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

course of study. Replies to these letters may be summarized as 
follows : 

Distribution of State courses of study: states. 

Each teacher has a copy 15 

Quite generally found among teachers 21 

'Indefinite replies 8 

Use made of State courses of study: 

Extensive— strict adherence to the course of study 10 

Moderate — followed quite generally 19 

Slight — little attention given to it 4 

Indefinite replies 5 

These reports seem to indicate that, in most States, courses of 
study are found generally in the hands of all rural teachers, and 
that the provisions in such courses are adhered to closely. But 
this conclusion, drawn from official statements, does not agree with 
reports contained in State and county educational surveys, from 
which the following quotations are taken : 

Only 3 per cent of the teachers attending institutes in 1913 were using the 
manual issued by the State department, and 18.2 per cent had no course of study to 
use in teaching. 5 

The textbook was far more frequently followed than the course of study. When 
the course of study was followed, it was usually found to be in upper rather than in 
lower grades. This was undoubtedly due to proximity to the State eighth-grade 
examination. 6 

Practically all the teachers visited nominally use the State course of study, but 
in reality they follow quite literally the arrangement of topics set forth in the 
particular text rather than the course of study. At least 90 per cent of the teachers 
showed a blind following of the textbook. 7 

Relatively few teachers were found who were following the course of study. 8 

After reading the type of classroom instruction, one realizes the complete failure 
teachers make in following courses of study; even textbooks are followed in a sleepy 
disinterested way. 9 

The complete State course of study is effective in very few rural or semirural 
schools. 10 

There was little evidence in 78 schools visited that teachers were working the State 
course of study very hard, although the teachers confessed they were following it in 
part at least. 11 

The children were rigorously held to their texts; no use is made of the experiences 
gained at home, on the farm, or in the environment. 12 

The writer's experience in Montana and other States is in line with 
these survey reports. In asking teachers where their children are in 
the outlines of the course of study, it has been found not infrequently 

6 Ohio State School Survey. Report of the State School Survey Commission, 1914. p. 122. 
e IT. S. Bu. of Educ, Bui. No. 31, 1918. The Educational System of South Dakota, p. 123. 

7 U. S. Bu. of Educ, Bui. No. 29, 1916. Educational Survey of Wyoming, pp. 55-57. 

8 U. S. Bu. of Educ, Bui. No. 44, 1917. Educational Conditions in Arizona, p. 138. 
9 U. S. Bu. of Educ, Bui. No. 41, 1919. An Educational Study of Alabama, p. 114. 

10 Public Schools Survey and Report, 1919. p. 99. Virginia Educational Commission. 

11 Illinois School Survey, 1917. p. 313. Illinois State Teachers' Association. 

12 Public Education in Delaware, 1919. p. 59. General Education Board. 



INTRODUCTORY CURRICULA STUDIES. 

that children are not in the course of study but in the textbook. 
Older pupils have shown many times that they have taken every 
lesson in their readers, geographies, hygiene books, and other texts, 
when the course of study advises taking up content in an order differ- 
ent from that of the textbooks. In all probability courses are not 
followed as closely as State superintendents have reported, and follow- 
ing courses intelligently is doubtless still much less common. 

REASONS FOR NONINTELLIGENT USE OF COURSES OF STUDY. 

Survey reports point to the conclusion that there is greater uni- 
formity in following textbooks slavishly than in following courses of 
study intelligently. In too many schools textbooks are the course 
of study. Many courses are still too much limited to textbook ma- 
terial. There are even courses which contain little more than " page 
limits" in prescribed textbooks, and there are many teachers who 
follow such courses by making page assignments. With what justice 
can the practice therefore be condemned ? Even stronger teachers 
are often judged by ground covered rather than efficiency in child 
development. Courses that contain only the rawest materials entail 
upon teachers impossible work before the materials are presentable 
to children. If courses of study are to be truly helpful to teachers 
in making their work more efficient, courses must be provided which 
contain something more than mere page assignments or the rawest 
materials of instruction. 

The nonintelligent use of a course of study is also due in part to 
teachers' lack of familiarity with its provisions. That teachers do not 
know the course of study is a criticism frequently made. The writer 
has found teachers showing honest surprise when valuable features 
in the course of study were pointed out to them, and even when such 
features were very Clearly stated. To find a course lost among the 
books of a school library or hidden away in remote corners of a 
teacher's desk is a fair indication that the course is not used by the 
teacher, certainly not in an intelligent way. 

A common criticism made by professional writers and survey direc- 
tors is that courses are not adapted for use by the type of teachers 
usually found in rural schools. Yet these teachers are in charge of 
60 per cent of the nation's children. A majority of the courses under 
survey constitute but "an outline of the mental march pupils are 
ordered to make." It is only occasionally that one in a supervisory 
position finds a courageous leader, like the Brown Mouse, who breaks 
traditional lines and "works out from life to everything in the course 
of study." It is the typical rural teacher who should be kept clearly 
in mind by those who would prepare courses which such teachers can 
use intelligently and effectively. 



6 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

Laws are frequently inadequate to secure proper enforcement of 
course-of-study provisions. Only the mechanical provisions of courses 
are likely to be followed by many teachers as long as a sufficient 
corps of visiting supervisors is not secured. Attempts at supervision 
through enriched courses fail with weak and inexperienced rural 
teachers without the personal guidance of a helpful leader. Even 
the better courses outlined by problems or topics become excuses for 
wasteful haste on the part of poor teachers. 

Better courses with which teachers are familiar and more direct 
supervision will doubtless produce better results in teaching, but the 
intelligent use of courses can not be fully realized without better 
prepared teachers. 

IMPROVING THE COURSE OF STUDY. 

In considering the improvements needed in State publications 
under survey it is well at the outset to raise the question, What 
constitutes a good course of study? There is need for standards 
which may serve as useful guides in evaluating the materials of 
instruction contained in State courses and presented in later chapters 
of this survey. 

Dr. Frank McMurry has defined a good course of study in any 
branch of knowledge as " the sum of (live) problems along one great 
line of interest, organized in good sequence, and containing data 
enough to furnish satisfactory answers to the problems." 13 

Dr. C. H. Judd describes the school curriculum in the following terms : 

A curriculum of the school is a living thing. It is constantly undergoing readjust- 
ments. Its content is drawn from the social life to which it introduces pupils, and 
its arrangement depends on the ability of pupils of different ages and different 
capabilities to grasp this constantly readjusted content. 14 

These statements indicate that a good course of study contains 
materials of instruction that are well selected and" well organized. 
To be well selected, the materials must have present-day significance, 
they must be socially valuable, and they must be useful to the 
learner. To be well organized, whether in topic or in problem form, 
the materials must be graded in difficulty to advance learners by easy 
steps. To make certain that printed materials have large functional 
value for children, teachers need to constantly readjust the materials 
for adaptation to the particular needs of a group of children or of 
individual pupils. 

This survey undertakes to show that the best courses of study 
contain : 

13 McMurry, F. Uniform Curriculum and Examinations. N. E. A. Jour, of Proc, 1913, p. 136. 
14 Judd, C. H. Introduction to the Scientific Study of Education, p. 197. 



INTRODUCTORY CURRICULA STUDIES. 7 

(a) Clear, helpful discussion of topics of a general nature, such as 
daily programs and libraries. (These topics are listed in the next 
chapter.) 

(b) Specific statements containing the teaching or learning aims 
in each subject outlined in the course of study. Stated aims for 
each grade, in the case of graded outlines for a subject, are also 
important aids. 

(c) The fundamental principals of method clearly stated and fully 
illustrated with model lessons for rural teachers. 

(d) A content that is sharply defined, that is definite to the extent 
of its educational usefulness, and that is enriched by a redistri- 
bution of emphasis. This requires the elimination of material little 
used by society, such as cube root, diagraming, details of many 
battles in war, much of mere location in geography, and names of 
all bones of the body. It requires, further, that the material in the 
courses not culled out be given the "country twist" with proper 
motives for work. Finally, there should be included in the courses 
(1) the vitalized materials needed for a successful life in an agricul- 
tural community, including topics bearing upon the economic and 
social phases of farm life, and (2) the major post-war problems com- 
ing before our democratic society, such as appear in current events, 
papers, and periodicals. 

A NATIONALIZED CURRICULUM. 

This investigating seeks to justify within certain limitations the 
nationalization of courses of study. There is doubtless an irreducible 
minimum for all normal children in various years of work the coun- 
try over. The writer believes that a uniform minimum curriculum 
is a useful conception. 

This view is supported by several State courses and various educa- 
tional writings, from which the following quotations are typical: 

The need for some plan for the promotion of desirable uniformity is very appar- 
ent. — Pennsylvania State Course of Study, 1914, p. 8. 

A uniform system of school work is the aim of this course. — Missouri Course of 
Study, 1919, p. 3. 

The State course of study seeks to unify the school work of the State in present- 
ing a definite plan and a definite outline of work for the common schools. — Illinois 
State Course of Study, 1912, p. 7. 

It is time to insist upon a universal system of education with a curriculum 
consisting of all those common elements which make for national integrity and 
national safety. 15 

There is large place for uniformity in an educational system; uniformity in 
business matters; uniformity of aims and principles for the school as a whole; uni- 
formity of aims and principles for particular subjects of study; and uniformity in 
many practical matters touching instructions. 18 

^Cofiman, L. D. " The War and the Curriculum," in Educational Administration and Supervision, 
Jan., 1918, p. 22. 

"McMurry, F. Ibid., p. 143. 



8 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

A committee on course of study in the Bureau of Education has 
been making an investigation throughout the United States of all 
content materials useful to farm folks. The National Country Life 
Association has a committee on rural education. The National Soci- 
ety for the Study of Education has been promoting uniformity in 
essential content through its numerous investigations and reports. 
Some States are using courses of study or outlines in certain subjects 
which were prepared for use in other States. The interstate mobility 
of both teachers and children increases the need for a common course 
of study. These and other forces have greatly stimulated a present 
tendency toward a nationalized curriculum. 

The State courses of study contain a certain number of topics 
found in all or nearly all of them. (Cf . lists of topics, Chs. VI to X.) 
The body of knowledge which can thus be brought together, with 
some modifications, includes much information of which every Amer- 
ican has need. There are social and economic problems national in 
scope. There are problems peculiar to a State, but typical of prob- 
lems in other States. There are problems truly representative and 
suggestive in character, which with proper adaptation are fully as 
valuable as those of wider application. There is also a considerable 
body of fact, subject matter requiring drill, of which every normal 
child in the Nation has need. The following pages show that a 
national course of study setting forth definite aims, sound methods 
and minimal materials for study, is useful as a guide and standard 
for the improvement of the State courses. 

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1. In this survey of State courses for rural elementary schools 
the leading purpose has been to present, analyze, and explain the 
content of prescribed courses in all they contain and to interpret the 
findings in the light of progressive opinion and of scientific investi- 
gations. 

2. Courses of study were available from 44 States. The 44 courses 
used are fairly uniform in size of print and of page. This made it 
possible to compare the number of pages assigned to outlines in 
various subjects in the several grades. The courses contain 9,431 
pages, or 214 pages on the average. 

3. With few exceptions the courses were prepared for use in all 
public elementary schools. A few States now provide courses for 
use in rural schools exclusively. This is a commendable change, as 
the problems in one-teacher schools and- in graded city schools are 
very different. 

4. Replies of letters sent to State departments of public instruction 
indicate that in most States (36) courses of study are found generally 
in the hands of all rural teachers, and that the provisions of such 



INTRODUCTORY CURRICULA STUDIES. 9 

courses are adhered to closely. This conclusion drawn from official 
statements does not agree, however, with reports contained in State 
educational surveys. Statements to the contrary may be found in 
the reports of State surveys of Ohio. South Dakota, Wyoming, Ari- 
zona, Alabama, Virginia, Illinois, and Delaware. They show in gen- 
eral that many teachers do not follow courses of study intelligently. 
To this condition some of the contributing causes are these : Outlines 
do not permit of intelligent use; outlines not adapted to schools or 
to teachers using them ; teachers unfamiliar with course-of -study pro- 
visions; lack of supervision. 

5. The real course of study is too often the textbook, followed liter- 
ally and exclusively. This practice could be redirected by causing 
teachers to become familiar with the prescribed course of study 
through attendance at summer schools, through teachers' meetings, 
and through circular letters and direct correspondence. 

6. For the production of a unified body of useful knowledge, it is 
advisable to receive the cooperative contributions of administrators, 
supervisors, successful teachers, and representative farmers. Thor- 
oughly organized courses require the assistance of an editor or an 
editorial staff. 

7. There is a growing demand for a uniform minimum curriculum 
for the Nation. This survey seeks to justify this claim. 

8. The following are suggested as principles of guidance: (a) 
Courses especially designed for use in rural schools; (b) courses which 
the average teacher can use effectively; (c) rural teachers familiar with 
the course-of-study provisions ; (d) courses prepared through extended 
cooperative influences. 

23606—23 2 



Chapter II. 
CHARACTER AND CONTENT OF GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 



TOPICS TREATED. 

Courses of study are usually not limited to outlines in the various 
subjects. Often many pages are given to the discussions of topics 
of a general nature. In a number of courses such topics are all 
included under the term "General suggestions." It requires an 
average of 20 pages in each of 44 State courses for the treatment of 
all such topics. This represents approximately one-tenth of the total 
number of pages (214) that would be in each course of study if the 
courses were all of equal length (Ch. IV, p. 34). The topics of a 
general nature which appear most frequently are listed in Table 1. 

Table 1. — Average number of pages in 44 State courses of study given to topics of a 
general nature, and the per cent each of these numbers is of an average of 214 pages 
per course. 



'Topic. 



Number 
of courses. 



Number 
of pages. 



Average 
number 
of pages. 



Per cent 

per 
course. 



General suggestions 

Daily programs 

Libraries, reading circle 
Brief outline of course. . 
Miscellaneous topics 

Total 



222 
160 
206 
70 
222 



5.0 
3.7 
4.7 
1.6 

5.0 



2.3 
1.3 

2.2 
.7 
2.3 



The miscellaneous topics in this table include, first, those that add 
little if anything of value to the making of a good course of study. 
The history of education, history of the course of study, schoolhouse 
construction, and sociology are topics of this character. There is a 
second group of general topics appearing in State courses which 
should be treated in connection with outlines of closely related sub- 
jects. Scientific temperance, famous pictures, boys' and girls' clubs, 
simplified spelling, good roads, and poultry culture are typical of such 
topics. A list of these topics is given in connection with the organi- 
zation of subjects of study in Chapter IV. Proper treatment of a 
third group of general topics appearing in State courses would materi- 
ally improve a course of study and tend to influence the work of 
schools in a most helpful way. Those appearing to the writer as 
most suggestive for such treatment are listed below : 

1. Practical aims of the school. 

2. Helpful changes and improvements in the curriculum. 

3. General plan of the course of study. 

4. Relative importance of subjects. 

(a) Grouping of related subjects. 

(b) Major subdivisions of each group. 
10 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 11 

5. Organization of classes and daily programs for schools of one or two teachers. 

6. Proper methods of study; the problem and project methods emphasized. 

7. Intelligent use of the course. 

8. Standard tests and promotions. 

9. Efficiency of instruction and professional progress. 

10. A teacher as judge of her own work. 

11. Standardization of schools. 

12. Important recently enacted laws. 

13. Textbooks and their grade distribution; if~no State adoption, how to judge 

and select textbooks. 

14. Minimal reference library, children's and teachers' reading circle. 

15. Needed supplies and materials. 

16. Beautification of school and community. 

17. Local social and industrial organizations. 

18. School and community spirit and cooperation. 

AIMS OF THE SCHOOL. 

The teacher needs to have a clear, broad conception of the purposes 
of the school and the true meaning of her work, if the details of her 
daily problems are to be dealt with in their proper perspective. She 
needs to keep the central purposes of her work clearly in view to pre- 
vent wandering about in matters of trivial importance. For the 
proper direction of instruction, courses of study should contain the 
general aims of teaching, stated in clear, simple language. 

For want of stated aims, teachers often go blindly about then work, 
following the textbook in covering ground. The following teaching 
aims are the most important among those mentioned in State courses; 
they appear infrequently and in variously formed statements : 

1. To give children a practical, useful education. 

2. To train them for efficient citizenship in our democracy. 

3 To promote their health and maintain their physical strength. 

4. To train them in dealing justly with their fellows. 

5. To know the world of facts with which they must cope. 

6. To promote their happiness through the right use of leisure. 

7. To give right direction to the best methods of earning a living. 

The writer believes that there should appear in the outlines of a 
course of study recurring statements of the way detailed recommen- 
dations contribute to the general aims of the school. Aims need to 
be made a part of the content of the course of study, if they are to 
be any large factor in the direction of the average teacher's work. 
No large measure of help is likely to be given to the thousands of 
inexperienced and ill-trained rural teachers by courses containing 
general aims on the first pages only, and making no reference to these 
aims in the outlines on later pages. Schools can not function prop- 
erly if the work of children drops to a low plane of mechanical rou- 
tine without raising the question of why or in what ways it contributes 
to their needs of life. Teachers who follow intelligently the outlines 
of a course of study in which the selection and organization of the 



12 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

materials of instruction were governed by important educational aims 
are not apt to wander far from the main purposes of the school. 

METHODS OF TEACHING AND OF STUDY. 

A majority of the State courses give teachers little or no help in 
conducting recitations or in teaching children how to study. To give 
methods of instruction may not be regarded by some writers as a 
function of the course of study. The professional preparation of a 
teacher often appears to be largely assumed. It is a matter of com- 
mon knowledge that many rural children have not been taught 
proper methods of study and that unsupervised rural teachers have 
often used poor teaching methods. This is a fair indication that 
courses of study should be manuals of method as well as outlines of 
content. There are courses that serve the double purpose of selecting 
and organizing content and of presenting methods of teaching and 
study. The Minnesota and New Jersey courses are examples. Such 
courses guide teachers in selecting teaching materials and show how 
the materials may be taught. The most important place in a course 
for suggestions on proper methods is doubtless in connection with 
the subject matter to be taught given in the subject outlines. Help- 
ful additional suggestions may be given by evaluating general meth- 
ods of teaching and learning. These may properly be given in the 
fore part of a course of study and as a part of an introduction to the 
outlines of each subject. 

STANDARDS FOR JUDGING INSTRUCTION. 

Standards by which a teacher may judge her own work seldom 
appear in State courses; and yet large returns can scarcely be ex- 
pected without some teaching standards. The teacher who knows 
the standards by which her supervisors would judge her work is most 
likely to put forth efforts to improve. Teaching becomes purposeful 
when teachers, strive to meet the standards set by a course of study. 

In illustration of standards useful to a teacher, the following, taken 
from the Montana Rural Course (p. 36), are suggestive: 

1. Is my preparation good — 

(a) In knowledge of subject matter ? 

(b) In the use of supplementary and reference material ? 

(c) In the assignment of lessons ? . 

(d) In the use of blackboard or illustrative materials ? 

2. Do my recitation periods — 

(a) Have an aim ? 

(b) Develop initiative in pupils ? 

(c) Discriminate between essentials and nonessentials ? 

(d) Stimulate real thinking on the part of pupils ? 

(e) Develop motive for study ? 

(/) Show good organization of subject matter ? 

3. Ami using textbooks as a guide rather than an end ? 

4. Am I training my pupils in the best methods of study, so that they can grad- 
ually work independently ? 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 



13 



5. Am I laying as much stress on habits and attitudes as I am on knowledge of 
subject matter? 

6. Is my work well balanced between book knowledge and motor activity; 
between the education for making a living and the education for leisure ? 

One of the most important functions of a good course of study is 
to supervise instruction. For this purpose, a course should contain 
well organized and correlated bodies of related materials, set forth 
among the best methods of teaching and harmonized by useful edu- 
cational aims and standards. In the Minnesota course, for example, 
teaching materials for each grade in each of several subjects are pre- 
ceded by teaching aims and followed by standards of instruction. A 
large measure of supervision is made possible through definite stand- 
ards included in each year of each subject as outlined in the course 
of study. 

PLAN OF THE COURSE OF STUDY. 

Earlier in this chapter it was pointed out that courses of study 
contain many pages on program making and other topics of a general 
nature. In practically all courses the pages devoted to such topics 
precede or follow the outlines of school subjects. 

The outlines are arranged alphabetically according to subject, in 
groups of related subjects, or in chance order. The plan of grouping 
subjects, such as is adopted for use in this survey (Chs. VI to X), has 
the advantage of keeping the number of subjects outlined within the 
limits of possibility for one-teacher schools to handle with facility. 
Grouping also aids in limiting the number of subjects for regular 
recitations by any grade of pupils to their ability to do good work 
in all subjects taken. 

The extent to which 17 school subjects outlined in State courses 
are broken up into separate outlines for the various grades or classes 
is given in Table 2. 

Table 2. — Number of courses dividing teaching materials in each of 17 subjects into 
outlines of various units of time. 



Subjects. 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Arithmetic 

History 

Civics 

Manners and morals . 

Geography 

Hygiene 

Physical education. . 

Nature study 

Agriculture 

Household arts 

Manual arts 

Drawing 

Music 



Not 
divided. 



Years or 
grades. 



Semes- 
ter or 
quarter. 



Months. 



Total. 



14 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

Practice would leave the outlines for physical education and man- 
ners and morals undivided into units of work to be followed in in- 
struction; divide the work for two or three classes in handwriting, 
drawing, and music; have all classes in these five subjects use the 
same period on the daily program; provide separate outlines for al- 
ternate years in certain grades in hygiene, nature study, agriculture, 
household arts, and manual arts; limit class work in civics to one or 
two upper years; and outline the remaining subjects — reading, lan- 
guage, spelling, arithmetic, history, and geography — by years or 
grades, with a possible further division on the semester basis. The 
practice most common for most subjects is outlines by years. In 
States where all rural schools open approximately at the same time 
and have fairly even term lengths, the yearly or semester plan ap- 
pears to be the most desirable. The semester plan is growing in 
favor and is commendable for use in States where the rural schools 
have fairly uniformly long terms. This plan is followed in city courses 
and should be equally well adapted to rural courses used in schools 
with terms of fairty equal length. The monthly plan reduces the 
course to considerable "lockstep" procedure. It allows limited free- 
dom of adaptation of material to particular groups of children. 

STANDARDIZATION OF SCHOOLS. 

Standardization of one-teacher schools has not yet received exten- 
sive consideration in courses of study. Little space in State courses 
has been given the topic. There are, however, plans for standardiz- 
ing rural schools in 26 States, 1 and the writer believes the topic to be 
of sufficient importance for State courses to warrant its more general 
discussion. 

There are two important phases of standardization. The one is 
concerned with school facilities, such as buildings, equipment, and 
school supplies, and with the duties and responsibilities of pupils, 
patrons, and school trustees. Standardization of this phase is com- 
paratively easy, because of its relatively permanent unchanging char- 
acter. The other phase has to do with instruction and includes the 
teacher's share of responsibility in securing a standard school. The 
frequent change of teachers makes this phase of standardization rela- 
tively difficult. It is this phase, however, that requires the larger 
share of attention in a course of study. The most useful part of 
standardization for the teacher, and therefore for the course of study, 
is that part which pertains directly to the teacher's work in matters 
of instruction. A course of study may well contain, however, in 
addition to standards for the teacher, brief explanations of laws or 

1 Lathrop, Edith A. Status of Standardization of the Rural Schools of the United States. Univ. of 
Va. Extension Series, Nov., 1919, p. 8. 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 15 

plans regarding standardization and a copy of the rating or score 
card used. 

OTHER GENERAL TOPICS. 

Supplies and materials. — Every rural school should have a supply 
of books and materials adequate to its needs in carrying out the pro- 
visions of a course of study. It is an advantage to a teacher to have 
classified lists of books and materials at hand for ready reference. 
There should be lists of textbooks, reading-circle books, and library 
books for supplementary reading and reference. Such lists are more 
fully discussed in Chapter XI. There should also be lists of materials 
for primary and industrial work, either apart from or in connection 
with reading, arithmetic, and other subjects. These lists should con- 
tain those supplies and materials mentioned in the outlines of various 
school subjects. When reference to materials is made in the outlines 
of subjects only, which represents prevailing practice, important 
materials may be easily overlooked in ordering. Suggestive lists save 
a teacher's time in checking supplies on hand and in ordering others 
early in the school year. 

Community activities. — -One frequently hears that a teacher's task 
is not confined to the four walls of a schoolroom. The teacher has 
responsibilities of an educational nature outside. Here is a field 
for helpful suggestions to which courses have given little attention. 
Only occasionally can one find a course treating such topics as neigh- 
borhood organizations, community meetings, community leadership, 
or a teacher's social obligations. If a course is to be a teacher's 
guide in all matters pertaining to her work, then it would appear 
that a course is not complete until it includes directions for intelligent 
participation in outside educational affairs. Ways and means may 
be suggested by which a teacher may become an influential factor in 
social and industrial organizations. A teacher may receive help 
from her course on methods of developing a good school and com- 
munity spirit. Beautifying school grounds, roadside, and home 
surroundings is a matter of interest to every community. The 
writer believes that topics of this nature deserve treatment in a State 
course. The average rural teacher has need of the help which a 
course can supply in giving directions to educational affairs outside 
of a school. A course of study, as well as a school, has doubtless 
a function to perform in ministering to the educational needs of a 
community. 

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1. The 44 State courses surveyed contain an average of 214 pages 
each. Of this number, 20 pages are devoted to general suggestions, 
consisting of everything outside of discussions or outlines of subjects. 



16 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

2. The most frequently mentioned general topics are daily pro- 
grams and libraries. Among those less frequently given are aims of 
the school, plan of the course, and intelligent use of the course. 

3. The number of courses setting forth the aims of the school is not 
commensurate with the importance of such aims. Curricula stand- 
ards for judging instruction are wanting quite as much. Both are 
needed as a means of organization, as a guide to teachers, and as an 
aid in supervision. To prevent teachers from wandering far from 
the main purposes of the school, there should appear recurring state- 
ments of the way detailed recommendations contribute to these 
teaching aims. 

4. A majority of the courses give teachers little constructive help 
in using the best teaching methods. It is quite as important that 
courses of study be manuals of method as outlines of content. 
Courses helpful in methods are needed to improve the poor teaching 
known to prevail in many rural schools. 

5. The subject matter should be so selected and organized as to 
meet, in so far as possible, the needs of the schools for which 
intended. Teaching materials and reference and library books se- 
lected should be on a level with the ability of rural children. It is 
preferable to make reference to textbooks and other books at 
various points in the outline after they have been prepared. The 
teacher's task is to take the general subject matter as outlined and 
adapt it to her environment. 

6. A large amount of supervision through the course of study is 
an object of worthy and earnest endeavor. Important considera- 
tions are specific aims for each subject and for each grade outline 
provided; recurring statements of the way detailed recommendations 
contribute to these aims; selection, relative emphasis, and arrange- 
ment of content materials; effective methods of instruction; and 
clearness, simplicity, and definiteness in every specification. 

7. All but 4 of the 17 common-school subjects under survey are 
outlined by years in a majority of the State courses. A few courses 
go further, in breaking up the work into semester or even monthly 
outlines. The yearly or semester plan appears to be the most serv- 
iceable where all the rural schools of a State have fairly long terms. 

8. There are other topics of a general nature which the writer 
believes deserve treatment in State courses. Types of such topics 
are standardization of schools, useful supplies and materials, and 
community activities of an educational nature. Topics of this char- 
acter are treated in courses only occasionally. 



CHARACTER OF GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 17 

9. The dominant purpose of a course of study may be considered 
that of promoting good teaching in every possible way. As a means 
to this end the following provisions are suggested : 

(a) Influence of the course extended through effective supervision. 

(b) Helpful general suggestions on important school problems. 

(c) Chief aims of the school, reinforced by adequate detailed recommendations. 

(d) Standards of achievement provided for each class in each subject. 

(e) Teaching materials especially valuable to rural children. 
(/) Organization adapted to rural school conditions. 

(g) Prominence given to the best teaching methods. 

(h) Definite directions in the use of teaching materials. 

(i) Preparation of outlines, followed by assignment of page reference. 



Chapter III. 
ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 



PROBLEM. 



One of the problems in one-teacher schools difficult of adequate 
solution is the organization of a school into classes in a way that 
will secure maximum efficiency in all school work. The present 
chapter seeks to aid teachers and program-makers in the solution of 
this problem. 

MATERIAL. 

Twenty-six model programs, taken from as many State courses, 
were used. Twenty of the programs provide classes for eight grades. 
The programs in Qourses of six Southern States provide classes for 
only seven grades. Upon investigation it was found that seventh- 
grade averages for all 28 programs were only slightly different from 
the same grade averages of 20 programs, not including those in the 
South. As these differences in averages were found largely negligible, 
the writer felt justified in using the 26 programs to show Nation-wide 
practice. 

It is only fair to assume, other things being equal, that the average 
pupil can do but a year's work in a year, wherever he may be. If 
he happens to be a seventh-grade pupil in the South, he has probably 
not completed more work equally well than the average seventh- 
grade pupil in the North. In fact the southern pupil appears to be 
at a disadvantage because of the shorter terms and weaker compul- 
sory education laws known to have existed in the South. 1 It is not 
considered unwise, therefore, to include in this survey of programs 
for one-teacher schools the programs in Southern State courses. 

There are only 20 programs which include the eighth grade. It is 
obvious that the true average for this grade can be determined only 
by using 20 as a unit of measure. The true average in grades below 
the eighth is not always found by using the same unit, for the reason 
that the programs do not all provide recitation periods for all grades 
in all subjects. There are also programs which make no provisions 
for such subjects as manual arts or household arts. All 26 programs 
have to be taken into account to determine what they have to offer 

i IT. S. Dept. of Agric. Bui. No. 132, 1915. Correlating Agriculture with the Public School Subjects 
of the Southern States, pp. 69, 75. 

18 



ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 19 

in the distribution of time among the various subjects and grades. 
In the discussion the low eighth-grades averages resulting from the 
use of the higher unit of measure are corrected. 

WHAT THE MODEL DAILY PROGRAMS CONTAIN. 

The typical program in State courses contains only the time to 
begin and the time to close a recitation and the subjects or classes in 
which children recite. Variations from this type most frequently 
observed, more especially in recently published courses, are the addi- 
tion of a study program and changes in the use of certain terms. 

Some model daily progams give time to begin, number of minutes 
for recitation periods, classes reciting, subject (or subjects) for reci- 
tation, and study programs for each class (or grade). Such a pro- 
gram explains the organized work of the schools and in practice 
appears to be the best. 

Some striking changes in terminology are observable. On one 
program, for example, the term "recess," used by the Jesuits 350 
years ago, has been replaced by "organized play." On another, 
"class-teacher periods," has replaced the belittling name of recita- 
tion. McMurry's apt suggestion of calling study periods "thinking 
periods " is nowhere in evidence, possibly because constructive think- 
ing and not mere reproduction of facts should also go on in all reci- 
tation periods. Other terms, such as luncheon and play hour, 
appearing on a few programs, offer some relief from the sameness 
and monotony of tradition. It is encouraging for those in supervi- 
sory positions to observe now and then teachers assuming the air of 
freedom by finding meaningful and expressive terms for their pro- 
grams. 

NUMBER OF DAILY RECITATION PERIODS. 

The range of daily recitation periods on 26 model programs for 
one-teacher* schools is from 21 to 38, with 85 per cent of the pro- 
grams limiting the number of such periods to 25. 

The number of daily recitation periods in any school is partly 
determined by the number of grades. On 20 programs this number 
is 8. The Southern States, with seven grades, provide as many daily 
recitations as other States with eight grades. The Illinois course 
contains a program of 32 recitations, and 225 minutes weekly are 
allowed on this program for the ninth and tenth grades. The Kan- 
sas Rural Courses, 1914, gives 38 daily recitations, 9 of which are in 
arithmetic and 4 are in the ninth grade. 

The New Hampshire course, with six grades, contains a program 
with the fewest daily classes. This program was not used, however, 
in compiling data for this chapter, although the plan may have com- 
mendable features. 



20 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



Another important factor in determining number of daily recita- 
tions is number of subjects. State courses contain outlines for 17 
subjects (Ch. IV). However, not one program in the courses pro- 
vides regular recitation periods in all these subjects. Some subjects, 
as manual training or agriculture, are often given but one, two, or 
three regular periods per week. Several subjects, such as agriculture 
and household arts, are limited to regular work in a few grades or 
even one grade. Occasionally a subject is outlined in a course of 
study without any provision made in the model program of that 
course for the teaching of such subject. Further, regular periods for 
important matters other than school subjects are usually provided. 
This is nearly always true of opening exercises, and occasionally, of 
supervised study. The complexity in program making arising out 
of 17 subjects and 8 grades, with time allowance for outside activi- 
ties, may be illustrated from the weekly time schedule contained in 
the Arizona State course. Reducing the maximum number of reci- 
tations provided on this schedule to a daily basis, more than 70 daily 
recitations would be required — unthinkable in a one-teacher school, 

ALTERNATION AND COMBINATION OF GRADES. 



One method of securing efficiency in one-teacher schools is through 
reduction of daily recitations by the plan of alternation and combi- 
nation of grades and classes. This plan is recommended in 73 per 
cent of 44 courses, and in most States it is made mandatory. 

The plan provides for the combination of grades 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 
and 7 and 8 into classes C, B, and A, respectively, as is shown in 
Table 3. The combinations of grades 2 and 3, 4 and 5, and 6 and 7 
occur in those Southern States which organize their elementary 
schools into seven grades. 

Table 3. — Relative frequency of grade combinations in school subjects in 26 model 
programs in as many State courses of study. 



Subjects. 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Arithmetic 

History 

Geography 

Hygiene 

Nature study. . 
Agriculture 

Average . 
Percentage 



Number of programs eombining- 



Grades 
1 and 2. 



Grades 
2 and 3. 



3.1 
5 



Grades 
3 and 4. 



Grades 
4 and 5. 



Grades 
5 and 6. 



19 
16 
26 
22 
11 
15 
12 

5 

1 

13.1 
22 



Grades 
6 and 7. 



Grades 
7 and 8. 



ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 21 

In reorganizing their courses a few States have arranged the 
material of a two-year period in a way that will best fit the adopted 
plan. They furnish two outlines fairly equal in difficulty for each of 
the A, B, and C classes. This enables a child to pursue either out- 
line before the other without being seriously handicapped by so doing. 
The outlines for grades 3, 5, and 7 are sometimes known as lower- 
division work, and those for grades 4, 6, and 8 as upper-division work. 
Children entering odd years take outlines in regular order by grades. 
It is only the children entering even years that are affected by pur- 
suing upper-division before lower-division outlines. 

It is not always possible to arrange the material for a two-year 
period with such even distribution as not to interfere at some points 
with the natural development of the child's ability. When children 
of such varying ability are so grouped in a class as to be unable to 
do identical work, provision is often made to have children pursue 
their regularly yearly outline. In C reading, for example, chil- 
dren of the third reader may read their lessons to the children of the 
fourth reader, and vice versa. This gives purpose to oral reading, 
creates a larger class audience, stimulates interest through motive, 
trains for efficiency in listening and in the conveyance of thought, and 
retains the class idea. Such provisions are probably needed mostly 
in reading for class C and in arithmetic. By the fifth grade, when 
children should have learned to read, combination difficulties in read- 
ing largely dissappear. 

Practically all the programs of Southern State courses combine 
grades 4 and 5, and 6 and 7 in reading, language, arithmetic, geogra- 
phy, history, and hygiene, and grades 6 and 7 in agriculture. 

The first three grades are usually not combined, except for some 
general lessons. A school thus becomes organized into five classes. 
By combining grades 2 and 3 on a seven-year course, four classes are 
organized, and grade 1 is still a class by itself. A school of seven 
grades usually has grade combinations different from those in a school 
of eight grades, but the number of classes and recitation periods per 
day are largely the same. 

The plan of alternating and combining grades is obviously not 
without its points of weakness. If seventh and eighth grade outlines 
for an eight-year course are well balanced in difficulty, then it must 
follow that the step from the sixth to the eighth is excessive, while 
that from the eighth to the seventh is negligible. This difficulty is 
partly met by teachers holding the advanced half of a class of pupils 
responsible for more and better work than the other. It is evident, 
too, that the plan affects two groups of children in a given class dif- 
ferently because of the two plans of promotion — regular for children 
•entering odd years and irregular for children entering even years. It 



22 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



is clearly impossible, however, for a one-teacher school of eight grades 
to have as many daily recitation periods as are found in all grades in 
schools with two to eight teachers. By combination of the two 
grades twice the amount of teacher time may be given the pupils of 
each grade. Adjustments to local needs are less difficult where the 
plan of alternation and combination is used. The early adoption of 
this plan in some States, its continued and extensive use in many, 
and the extent of its success in thousands of country schools, have 
given it a rightful place in all large, well organized, one-teacher 
schools. It is safe to say that the plan is the most workable yet 
devised for use by the average rural teacher. 

ALTERNATION AND COMBINATION OF SUBJECTS. 

Another method of securing efficiency through reduction of recita- 
tions is by alternation and combination of subjects. The 26 model 
programs contain as many as 47 different combinations of two or 
more subjects. Table 4 gives those most frequently mentioned. 

Table 4.- — Relative frequency of combination and alternation of subjects in 26 model 
programs in as many State courses of study. 



Subjects combined or alternated. 



History and civics 

Writing and drawing 

Reading and spelling 

Reading and history 

History and geography. . . 
Geography and hygiene . 
Language and spelling. . . 

Reading and language 

Hygiene and agriculture. 



Number 


Most 


of 


frequent 


programs. 


grades. 


15 


7-8 


12 


All classes. 


8 


1-4 


7 


3-5 


7 


5-6 


6 


5-6 


6 


1-3 


5 


1-3 


5 


7-8 



There is an evident tendency to provide one outline for history 
and civics, to alternate writing and drawing by days through the 
week, to do the same with agriculture and hygiene in upper grades, 
to alternate history with geography or geography with hygiene in 
intermediate grades, and to make various combinations of subjects in 
lower grades. 

THE AVERAGE DAILY PROGRAM. 

The number of classes for a subject is determined by the number 
of grades given a regular period on the program for that subject. 
Table 4 shows that the number of periods in which children recite in 
reading, language, spelling, in arithmetic is relatively large, as all 
grades recite in these subjects. 

On the average daily program, provision is made for children of 
each of the first four grades to recite five or six times each day; for 
the fifth and sixth to recite six or seven times daily; and for the 



ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 



23 



seventh and eighth (except in the south) to recite seven or eight 
times each daj r (Table 5). The more helpless and immature chil- 
dren have one or two fewer recitations a day than upper-grade 
children. 

Table 5. — Average number of doily recitation periods in 26 model programs, 
distributed by grades and subjects. 



Subjects. 



Class D. 



Class C 



Grade 

1(E). 



Reading 

Spelling 

Language 

Arithmetic . . . 
Nature study. 
Agriculture... 
Geography. .. 

Hygiene 

History 

Civics 



2.3 
.4 
.9 
.7 
.6 



Total 

Class average. 



5.4 



Grade 
2(D). 



1.9 
.7 
1.0 
1.0 
.6 



Grade 3. 



1.5 



1.0 
1.0 
.6 



5.8 



Grade 4. 



0.9 
.8 
1.0 
1.0 
.3 
.1 
.8 
.4 
.3 



Class B. 



Grade 5. Grade 6 



1.0 
1.0 
1.0 
1.0 
.3 
.1 
1.0 
.7 
.6 



1.0 
1.0 
1.0 
1.0 
.2 
.2 
1.0 
.7 
.7 



5.9 
5.75 



5.6 



6.7 I 
6.75 



6.8 



Class A. 



Grade 7. Grade 8.* 



0.9 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

.1 

.6 

.9 

.7 

1.0 

.4 



Total. 



0.3 



9.8 
6.5 
7.7 
7.5 
2.8 
1.4 
4.9 
3.7 
4.0 
1.0 



7.6 
6.55 



5.5 



49.3 
24.65 



1 Programs of six Southern States have no eighth grade. 



Ungraded subjects are: 

Writing 1.0 

Opening exercises 1.0 

Music 7 

Drawing 7 



Manual arts 0. 3 

Household arts 2 

Ehysical education * . .1 

Manners, and morals 1 



Without combination of grades or alternation of subjects, the aver- 
age daily program for all grades would contain 49 class periods. 
With alternation and combination this number may be reduced to 
24 or fewer. 

Seventh-grade averages for 26 programs total three-tenths of a 
daily recitation higher than the same grade averages, and six-tenths 
of a daily recitation higher than the eighth-grade averages, of the 20 
programs for eight grades. These differences were considered small 
enough to justify including in Table 5 the programs of six courses 
providing recitation periods for all grades but the eighth. The true 
eighth-grades averages based on the 20 programs providing for eight 
grades are equal to the seventh-grade averages of the same subjects, 
except in civics, where the average is fifteen-hundredths of a recita- 
tion more, and in geography, hygiene, and agriculture, where it is 
not over two-tenths of a recitation less in each subject. 

DISTRIBUTION OF RECITATION TIME. 

The teacher of a one-room school has the problem of adjusting her 
program so as to give each class that amount of time for study and 
recitation of each subject which the pupils of the class require for its 



24 



STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



mastery. It is often a difficult matter to arrange a time schedule 
doing justice to all members of a class or school and to both study 
and class periods. 

Two State courses of study give a time schedule for various sub- 
jects as used in city schools. Such a schedule is not adapted to one- 
teacher schools. The amount of time for each subject and for each 
grade must be determined by situations in the schools to which time 
schedules are applied. 

It is shown in Tables 3 and 4 that programs combine grades and 
subjects in various ways. This has the effect of increasing the recita- 
tion time the average program gives to each grade, and, there- 
fore, to all grades. If each grade were to recite alone the same 
number of minutes as it is given by grade combinations, the total 
time for all grades would be far in excess of the time of a school day. 
By investigation it was found that a two-fifth reduction in average 
time was necessary to bring the total time within the compass of a 
6-hour day or a 1,800-minute week. These reduced averages are 
given in Table 6. 

Table 6. — Average number of minutes per week (reduced to a 1,800-minute basis) allotted 
for recitation of class periods in each subject and in each grade on 26 model programs 
in as many State courses of study. 



Subjects. 



Class D. 



Class C 



Grade 1 
(E). 



Grade 2 Grade 
(D). 3. 



Grade 
4. 



Class B. 



Grade 
5. 



Grade 



Class A. 



Grade 

7. 



Grade 
8.1 



Total. 



Beading 

Spelling 

Language 

Arithmetic 

Nature study and agriculture 

Geography 

Hygiene 

History and civics 

Handwriting and drawing. . . 
Opening exercises and music. 
Manual arts and household 

arts 

Organized play 



Grade total 

Class total 

Minutes per day. 



280 
56 



185 205 

390 

78 



215 235 

450 
90 



275 



205 



418 
132 
285 
324 

75 
160 

75 
131 

50 

50 

25 
75 



^360 



1 Programs of six Southern States have no eighth grade. 

2 Forty minutes for the whole school as one class. 



Average number of minutes per week given to the two upper grades by the 20 eight-year 

programs. 



Beading... 
Spelling... 
Language. . 
Arithmetic. 
Agriculture 



Seventh, i Eighth. 



Geography 

Hygiene 

History and civics. . 

Total minutes 



Seventh. 



Eighth. 



260 



ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 25 

In four subjects the averages for these two grades are the same, 
but in geography, hygiene, and history and civics eighth-grade aver- 
ages are lower by 7 to 11 minutes per week. If the programs of six 
Southern States were not included in Table 6, the number of minutes 
per day for class A (seventh and eighth grades combined) would be 
increased by 9. The eighth-grade averages of 20 programs are higher 
by 2 to 13 minutes per week in the several school subjects than the 
averages as shown in the table. These differences are not sufficiently 
large to justify excluding the programs of the South. Allowance as 
here shown must be made for the low eighth-grade averages given in 
the table. 

One of the most striking facts revealed by the table is the exces- 
sive amount of time allotted upper-grade children. This injustice to 
the younger children is brought out graphically in Figure 1. It is 
unfair to the first-grade child to receive but 140 minutes a week of 
the teacher's time, when the seventh-grade child with all his acquired 
ability to be self-helpful gets 275 minutes of her time. Is it any 
wonder a first-grade child soon becomes a repeater when he is given 
but 28 minutes of the teacher's time a day ? When model programs 
in State courses recommend this, what may be expected of teachers ? 
It is no small wonder that State surveys have called attention in 
strong terms to this fault on teachers' programs: 

First-grade children receive less than one hour per day of direct attention of the 
teacher. Time allotments to different grades is such as to sacrifice interests of more 
numerous and dependent pupils in lower grades to interests of fewer and less de- 
pendent pupils in upper grades. 2 

The school subjects are not fairly represented on model programs. 
Sixty per cent of the teacher's time is allotted to reading, arithmetic, 
and language. The programs make the " tool " subjects dominant, 
and that teachers should give very much of their time to drill and 
mechanical routine is a natural result. Arithmetic is in the lead in 
all but the lower grades, and on many programs it alone occupies 
practically one-fourth of the time. 

Time allotments to various studies are in general so chaotic that program-making 
appears to depend on the whim of individual teachers rather than to follow any recog- 
nized principles. 3 

2 Public School Survey and Report, 1919, pp. 99, 100. Virginia Educational Commission, 
s Ibid., p. 214. 

23606—23 3 



26 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR BUBAL SCHOOLS. 



I. PRESENT PLAN 




II. GRADES COMBINED 




III. PROPOSED PLAN 




Figure 1. — The bars represent (I) the average number of minutes per week of the teacher's time, 26 
model programs in as many State courses of study give to each grade; (II) the same time allotment 
with grades combined into classes; and (III) the proposed time allotment as given in Table 7. (Data 
for I and II are from Table 6.) 



ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 
A PROGRAM OF 24 CLASS PERIODS. 



27 



It is possible to arrange a program that gives greater justice to the 
larger number of more helpless children and maintains a more even 
balance among the subjects. 

Table 7. — Proposed balanced schedule of class periods for one-teacher schools with 
eight grades represented. 



Classes and subjects. 



Class D i . 



Reading and spelling (class E) 

Reading and spelling (class D) 

(Reading includes phonics, spelling, word study.) 

Language (correlate hygiene, civics, history) 

Numbers 



Class C. 



Reading 

Spelling 

Language(correlate hygiene, civics, history) 

Nature study and industrial arts (correlate home geography) . 
Arithmetic 



Class B » . 



Reading (grades 5 to 8) 

Spelling (grades 5 to 8) 

Language (correlate hygiene). 

Arithmetic 

Geography (grades 4 and 5) . . 
History and civics 



Class A * 



Language 

Arithmetic 

Agriculture (grades 5 to 8), (correlate industrial arts) . 

Geography (grades 6 and 7) 

Hygiene (grades 6 and 7) 

History and civics 



Alls. 



Opening exercises and community songs . 
Handwriting and drawing 

Physical education and organized play . . . 



20 



Periods 


Minutes 


weekly. 


per day. 


35 


85 


15 


36 


10 


25 


5 


12 


5 


12 


25 


75 


5 


15 


5 


10 


5 


15 


5 


20 


5 


15 


20 


75 



70 



20 



55 



1 Nature study, industrial arts, class C; change of seat work between periods. 
1 Grade 4 geography, class B. 

* Grade 6 geography, class A; agriculture and industrial arts, class A. 

* Reading and spelling, class B. 

* Industrial arts; handwork in lower grades through educative seat work. Manual arts and sewing 
in upper grades correlated with agriculture. The hot lunch at noon. More extensive project work in 
eighth grade. 

The schedule in Table 7 is proposed for the larger one-teacher 
schools of eight grades. An important factor in its determination 
is the relative frequency of alternation and combination of grades 
and subjects appearing on 26 programs (Tables 3 and 4). Another 
factor is the extent of correlation recommended by 44 State courses. 
Correlation is treated in Chapter V and summarized in Table 23 
(p. 62). The writer takes the position that program time should be 
given only to those subjects for which outlines or discussions are pro- 
vided in the printed course of study pursued. Thus, the relative 
amount of average space 44 State courses give to each grade in each 
subject has some significance in program-making. For information 



28 



STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



on this the reader is referred to Chapter IV, and particularly to Table 
15 (p. 40). 

With some modifications the above-mentioned factors have deter- 
mined the grouping of subjects and the organization of classes in the 
balanced schedule. One modification, for example, is in the distri- 
bution of time. The amount of teacher-time proposed represents an 
increase for lower grades and a decrease for upper grades from the 
average on 26 programs as given in Tables 4 and 5. The time differ- 
ences are graphically shown in Figure "1. The proposed schedule 
provides for 24 daily class periods, 4 of which are for the whole 
school. This is 1 fewer than the number to which 85 per cent of the 
programs would limit daily periods. 

The time schedule in Table 8 represents the weekly time allotments 
of Table 7 presented in greater detail. It provides a fairly even num- 
ber of clock hours of the teacher's time for the children of each grade. 
Each class receives from 2 to 2\ hours of her time every day. The 
number of recitation periods for each class is also fairly even. In 
two of these periods, opening exercises and writing, the whole school 
is treated as one class. This corrects the fundamental weakness 
pointed out in Table 5, of neglecting the younger children. 

Table 8. — Proposed number of minutes -per week for 24 daily class periods, distributed 

by grades and subjects. 





Class D. 


Class D. 


Class B. 


Class A. 


Total. 


Periods 


Subjects. 


Grade 
1. 


Grade 
2. 


Grade 
3. 


Grade 
4. 


Grade 
5. 


Grade 
6. 


Grade 

7. 


Grade 

8. 


per 
day. 




180 
60 


125 
60 


75 

75- 

50 

75 

75 


75 
75 
50 

75 
75 


75 
60 
56 

75 
60 
60 

64 

B) 

150 
80 
50 


75 
60 
56 

75 
60 
60 
60 
45 
150 

80 

50 


75 
60 

56 

75 
45 
60 
60 
45 
150 

80 

50 


75 
60 
56 

75 
45 
60 

( 3 ) 

( 3 ) 

150 

80 
50 


455 
255 
106 

75 
240 
120 
124 

45 
150 

ISO 

50 


6.6 




3.6 




(Reading) 

75 75 
60 | 60 
(Language) 
(Nature stu 


1.4 


Handwriting and 


1.0 




3.4 


History and civics 2 . . 


(Language) 
dy) i 64 


1.2 
1.4 




.6 


Physical education . 
Nature study and 

agriculture 4 

Opening exercises 


150 
100 
50 


150 
100 
50 


150 
100 
50 


150 
100 
50 


2.0 
1.8 
1.0 






Clock hours per 


2.3 

8 


2.1 

7 


2.2 


2.4 
8- 


2.4 

7— 


2.5 

7+ 


2.5 

7 


2.2 

6- 


6.0 






24.0 



1 Handwriting, 3 days; drawing, 2 days. 

2 Correlate manners and morals with civics and with all school work. 

3 Eighth grade should continue geography and hygiene, if work is not completed inthe seventh. 
* Correlate industrial arts with agriculture. (Refer to note, Table 7.) 

Another weakness observed in the model programs is the unfair- 
ness with which some subjects are represented. While this weakness 
is probably not entirely overcome, it is largely removed by the use 
of the idea of correlation (see Ch. VI), combination of grades and 
subjects, and alternation of classes. By a comparison of total minutes 



ORGANIZATION OE ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 29 

per week for each subject in Table 6 with Table 8, it will be seen that 
nature study-agriculture is given 140 per cent more time, and physi- 
cal education, with which hygiene may be correlated, is given 100 per 
cent more. Arithmetic has been cut down by 26 per cent of time, 
and language and spelling are given less time. There is a tendency 
to give less time to arithmetic and more time to agriculture. 4 

The two major points of weakness discoverable on programs in 
State courses may be overcome by the readjustment as here given, 
but it should be suggested that too strict adherence to time allot- 
ment on any program, when minutely divided into many recitation 
periods and various subjects, interferes with wholesome progress of 
school work. Programs are to serve the school, but all too often 
slavish use is made of them. A program is a necessity in organiza- 
tion, but such variations from it which serve the best interests of the 
children affected should doubtless be made. The truly resourceful 
teacher who has mastered the art of teaching effectively uses her pro- 
grams to meet the changing needs of her classes and of each child. 

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1. Twenty-six of the courses contain model programs for recitations 
in the various subjects of study in the grades. Eighty-five per cent 
of these programs limit the number of daily recitations to 25. This 
is made possible by the plan of alternation and combination of grades 
and classes recommended by 73 per cent of the 44 courses under sur- 
vey. Alternating subjects by days through the week is a device often 
used. The device is designed especially for one-teacher schools with 
eight grades. 

2. The grades usually combined are the third and fourth, the fifth 
and sixth, and the seventh and eighth. The exceptions are mainly 
for programs of seven grades in some of the Southern States. Grades 
one and two are often combined for all classes except in reading. 
Classes are commonly known by letter: A, B, C, D, and sometimes 
E for the first grade. 

3. Yearly outlines for combined grades on alternate years should 
be well balanced in difficulty to give children every possible advan- 
tage in pursuing work on a level of their ability. 

4. While the plan of alternation and combination is not without 
its points of weakness, it is safe to say that the plan is the most 
workable yet devised for use by the average rural teacher. 

5. The relatively fewer upper-grade children are favored with more 
recitation time and more class periods on the average program than 
the more numerous primary children. 

<U. S. Bu. of Edue. Bui. No 41, 1919. An Educational Study of Alabama, p. 102. 



30 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

6. The programs assign 60 per cent of the teacher's time to arith- 
metic, reading, and language. Arithmetic is in the lead in all but 
the lower grades, and on some programs it alone occupies practically 
one-fourth of the time. 

7. A balanced program of 24 daily classes for one-teacher schools, 
designed to do justice to all children and to all subjects, is submitted 
(Table 7). In its production the writer was guided by the results of 
this investigation, but practice was not strictly followed. The pro- 
gram submitted increases the amount of teacher-time for children in 
the lower grades. It also contains what the writer believes to be a 
wiser distribution of time among the school subjects. 

8. Some principles for the organization of courses appear to be 
fairly well established: 

(a) Materials of instruction should be selected to meet children's immediate and 
future needs and organized into relatively few subjects for regular class study. 

(6) All separately outlined subjects should receive a regular place on the program. 
Teaching materials for subjects not given such a place should be woven into the out- 
lines of related subjects that are included on the program. 

(c) Subject outlines for each year in each class should be well balanced in difficulty 
and alternated by years. 

9. Some principles for the organization of rural schools also appear 
to be well established: 

(a) Recitation periods should be most frequent in primary grades. 

(b) Lower grades require even more of the teacher's time than upper grades. 

(c) As pupils advance through the grades, recitation periods should be gradually 
lengthened. 

(d) Relative difficulties presented in the learning process largely determine the 
program time to be allotted to each subject. 

(e) Grades should be combined into classes, and subject outlines for each class 
should be alternated by years. 

(/) Every program should provide for play and recreation, for study and for 
recitation. Seat work and organized play must not be neglected. It is even more 
important to teach children to study than to recite. Study periods should, when 
possible, follow recitation periods. 

(g) There are fundamental subjects in each class for daily class instruction. There 
are others that need not be assigned a place on the daily program. 

(h) There are subjects in which instruction should be given every year. There 
are others in which regular periods of instruction should be limited to certain grades. 

(t) Periods most favorable for study should be given the most difficult subjects. 
The physical fitness of children to do the work assigned should govern the place of a 
subject on the daily program. 

10. The meaning of these principles is made clear in the schedule 
of classes proposed for one-teacher schools. By use of this schedule 
as a guide it should be comparatively easy for any teacher to make 
out a program adapted to her school. Such a schedule may be found 
to be even more helpful to the average rural teacher than the model 
program itself. 



ORGANIZATION OF ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS. 31 

11. There are important standards of adjustment outside of the 
course of study that should be considered in program-making. Some 
of these are: 

(a) Equalized term lengths for all children (9 monthe). 

(6) Full enrollment and perfect attendance by every normal-minded healthy 
child of school age. 

(c) Quality of instruction improved and supervision extended. 

12. The following principles of guidance in providing programs in 
courses for one-teacher schools are suggested : 

(a) Programs provided which contain 24 or fewer classes daily, including two 
organized play periods. 

(6) Kecitation time among classes and subjects proportioned in a way that will 
do justice to all children. 

(c) The time for study and recitation among the school subjects wisely distributed. 

(d) The program adjusted as far as is possible to the conditions in the largest num- 
ber of schools for which the program is intended. 

(e) The outlines organized according to the plan of alternation and combination 
of grades and of subjects. 



Chapter IV. 

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

SUBJECTS. 



NAMES FOR SCHOOL SUBJECTS. 

This chapter undertakes to discover the relative importance of 
elementary school subjects as revealed by their prominence in 44 
State courses. 

The number of elementary school subjects treated in State courses 
of study is 17. The subjects are known in some courses by different 
names. In the case of most subjects the writer has chosen the name 
appearing most commonly. In a few subjects, as language, hygiene, 
and household arts, that name was chosen which appealed to the 
writer as most expressive of what a subject should be. In almost 
all cases there was no question as to the subject to which an outline 
belonged. In case of doubt, as in the good-roads outline of the 
Colorado course, the teaching materials provided in the outlines deter- 
mined the subject with which outlines were associated. For the 
purpose of this survey outlines under different names have been 
organized according to the following plan : 

Reading — Phonics, literature. 

Language — Grammar, composition, picture study. 

Spelling — Orthography, word study. 

Handwriting — Writing, penmanship. 

Arithmetic — -Numbers, bookkeeping. 

History — Social science, biography. 

Civics — Citizenship, thrift, government, social life. 

Manners and morals — Humane education, character study. 

Geography — Good roads, community studies. 

Hygiene — Physiology, sanitation, scientific temperance. 

Physical education — Physical culture, physical training, calisthenics, gym- 
nastics, folk dancing, plays and games. 

Nature study — Elementary science, simple experiments (chemical, physical). 

Agriculture — Poultry culture, club projects. 

Household arts — Sewing, cooking, home making, domestic art, domestic 
science, home economics, school luncheons. 

Manual arts — Handwork, construction work, seat work, handicraft, manual 
training. 

Drawing — Art education, color work, fine arts. 

Music — Vocal music, singing. 

32 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 



33 



NUMBER OF OUTLINES PROVIDED. 

In most courses subjects are outlined. In some, only general dis- 
cussions of the subjects are given. The 17 subjects are either outlined 
or gi^en general treatment in the 44 courses. The number of courses 
containing outlines or general suggestions in the various subjects are 
presented in Table 9. 

Table 9. — Number of State courses of study providing outlines in general suggestions J 
and in each grade for each of the 11 subjects. 



Subjects. 









Number of courses in — 






General 


Grade 


Grade 


Grade 


Grade 


Grade 


Grade 


Grade 


Grade 


sugges- 
tions. 1 


1. 


2. 


3. 


4. 


5. 


6. 


7. 


8. 


30 


44 


44 


44 


43 


43 


43 


42 


33 


30 


43 


43 


43 


43 


43 


43 


42 


36 


30 


36 


37 


40 


39 


38 


38 


36 


32 


28 


28 


30 


30 


30 


28 


28 


24 


21 


33 


43 


43 


43 


43 


43 


43 


43 


37 


33 


27 


31 


32 


33 


38 


42 


42 


35 


14 


3 


4 


5 


6 


9 


10 


20 


27 


23 


12 


12 


12 


10 


8 


8 


9 


9 


28 


15 


18 


33 


41 


42 


41 


39 


21 


32 


25 


26 


27 


27 


30 


32 


26 


22 


24 


8 


8 


8 


8 


6 


6 


6 





22 


29 


30 


27 


24 


19 


15 


9 


6 


22 


5 


5 


5 


6 


11 


15 


29 


29 


24 


2 


3 


3 


4 


12 


18 


20 


20 


21 


13 


12 


13 


13 


15 


• 14 


17 


15 


39 


26 


26 


29 


27 


27 


27 


26 


21 


33 


22 


22 


22 


21 


21 


21 


21 


17 



Total. 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Arithmetic 

History 

Civics 

Manners and morals 

Geography 

Hygiene 

Physical education. 

Nature study 

Agriculture 

Household arts 

Manual arts 

Drawing 

Music 



1 General suggestions as here used explained in Ch. II. 

All of the 44 courses contain outlines or general discussions for 7 
of the subjects. Four additional subjects are considered in more 
than 40 courses. There are no subjects treated in fewer courses than 
25, and only 3 subjects are treated in fewer than 35. The fact that 
a majority of the 17 subjects are treated in almost all of the State 
courses is itself highly significant. 

There are variations in the number of grade outlines provided for 
each subject. The table shows that nature study is a lower-grade 
subject, and that agriculture, household arts, and civics are found 
almost exclusively in upper grades. In other subjects the number of 
outlines are more evenly distributed by grades. Relatively few 
courses give grade outlines for physical education and for manners 
and morals. 



METHOD OF MEASURING THE LENGTH OF COURSES. 

It was pointed out in Chapter I that the 44 courses are nearly 
uniform in size of print and of page. The length of a full page in a 
number of courses was measured and found to be 7f inches. From 
this a linear scale divided into 10 equal parts was constructed, and 
this scale was used- to determine to the "nearest tenth of a page the 



34 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

number of pages the State courses gave to each subject and to each 
grade. A full page in the Utah course measured only eight-tenths 
of a page on the scale used. This course contained the shortest 
pages and represented about the only striking exception to courses 
with pages of uniform length. Estimates were made for print 
especially large, such as at the beginning of outlines, or for print 
quite small. Care was exercised in this to insure uniformity, although 
the relative amount of such print was small enough to make the 
factor very largely negligible. The method made possible exact 
measurements of the length of outlines. 

While this method is entirely impartial, it is not without its limi- 
tations. Spelling, a formal subject, for example, is allotted less space 
for its outlines in three-fourths of the courses than is allotted to geog- 
raphy, a content subject. Agriculture, a subject passing through 
the period of formulation and introduction, is given more than 16 
pages in one-half of the courses. A subject may be relatively new 
or old; it may be largely a formal or a content subject; it may be 
comparatively easy or difficult to analyze a subject into details of 
greater or less value; and more or less space may be required, 
depending upon the nature of the subject, the public demand for it, 
or the amount of program time allotted to it. These and other factors 
determine the relative importance of subjects and their space allot- 
ments in courses of study. The method of quantitative treatment 
used for the purpose of this survey seeks to determine only the 
relative emphasis given school subjects by the factors of time and 
space assignments. Practice thus revealed may serve as a valuable 
guide in compiling courses, although the relative importance of school 
subjects can not be fully determined by the method used. 

NUMBER OF PAGES. 

The courses contain 8,551 pages allotted to all subjects. The 
number of pages assigned to each grade in each subject is shown in 
Table 10. 

One of the most striking features of the distribution is the relatively 
large amount of space in each subject allotted to ungraded material. 
Before the outlines by grades in each school subject are given, the 
courses usually give considerable space to the discussion of several 
topics which may be grouped under the term " General suggestions." 
The topics bear the same relation to a subject as the general sugges- 
tions mentioned in Chapter II bear to the whole course of study. 
They treat such topics as aims of the subject, best methods of 
instruction, selection and relative emphasis of content, motivation of 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 



35 



material, concrete teaching helps, use of textbooks, needed library 
books and materials, and correlation with other subjects. The 
discussions are often as valuable as the outlines for various grades. 

Table 10. — Total number of pages of space allotted to general suggestions and to each 
grade in eacli subject in 44 State courses of study. 



Subjects. 


General 
sugges- 
tions. 


Grades. 


Total. 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 




166 

123 

93 

98 

139 

102 

68 

99 

81 

154 

251 

118 

161 

191 

80 

112 

115 


203 

112 

26 

21 

101 

23 

1 

5 

17 

18 

10 

60 

6 

1 

21 

36 

22 


78 

93 

29 

14 

127 

30 

1 

4 

20 

17 

11 

48 

5 

1 

12 

28 

17 


79 

HI 

31 

14 

155 

35 

4 

5 

86 

24 

13 

45 

6 

1 

9 

26 

17 


67 
100 

29 

18 
119 

40 

4 

152 

29 

16 

38 

6 

2 

12 

27 

12 


58 
90 
30 
11 

123 
73 
13 
4 

147 
32 
9 
27 
19 
11 
13 
25 
12 


51 
94 
26 
11 
124 
117 

8 

4 
158 
56 

8 
23 
43 
27 

9 
26 
11 


50 

HI 

30 

10 

102 

213 

109 

8 

119 

83 

9 

10 

203 

103 

21 

24 

11 


61 

124 

28 

10 

91 

182 

68 

10 

80 

47 

9 

3 

259 

108 

21 

24 

11 


813 




958 




322 


Handwriting 


207 
1,081 




815 




277 


Manners and morals . 


143 

860 




460 


Physical education.. 


336 
372 

708 




445 
198 




328 




228 






Total 


2,151 


683 


535 


661 


676 


697 


796 


1,216 


1,136 


8,551 







Another feature revealed by the table is the unequal distribution 
of space allotment. Arithmetic is given the largest amount of space 
of any subject, and manners and morals the least. The seventh 
grade is assigned more than twice the space that is assigned to the 
second. In a few grades of two subjects there is allotted no more 
than one page in all 44 courses, while the largest amount of space 
given to any grade in any subject is 259 pages. 

One reason for this unequal distribution of space allotment is 
the unequal number of outlines in the various grades and subjects 
provided, as revealed by Table 9. It should also be observed that 
to provide one outline for each grade in each of 17 subjects in all 
44 courses, 748 different outlines would be required. To make this 
number, 80 additional outlines are needed. 

The outlines also vary greatly in length. There are 243 outlines 
containing each less than 5 pages, and 377 that contain less than 10. 
On the other hand, there are 136 outlines with 20 or more pages, 35 
with 40 or more pages, and 17 with more than 50 pages. This vari- 
ation in the length of different outlines is an important factor in the 
uneven distribution of total space allotment. The distribution of 
the number of courses with varying lengths of outlines is given in 
Table 11. 



36 



STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



Table 11. — Number of courses provided in each subject by 44 States, distributed accord- 
ing to the number of pages assigned to each outline. 





Number of courses of studv. 

1 


Subjects. 


0.1 to 

4.5 
pages. 


5 to 
9.9 

pages. 


10 to 

14.9 
pages. 


15 to 
19.9 

pages. 


20 to 

24.9 

pages. 


25 to 

29.9 

pages. 


30 to 
34.9 

pages. 


35 to 

39.9 

pages. 


40 to 

49.9 

pages. 


50 or 

more 
pages. 




4 
2 

24 
26 
3 
7 
27 
19 
4 
19 
16 
16 
13 
15 
12 
20 
16 


8 
8 
9 

10 
5 
8 
7 
5 

12 
7 
1 
6 
5 
9 
9 

13 

12 


11 
8 
5 
5 
8 

11 
1 
2 
5 
4 
1 
6 
4 
1 
6 
6 
S 


1 
8 
3 
1 


10 
5 
2 


3 

2 
1 


3 
3 


1 


3 

4 


1 




3 














3 


8 


5 

1 
1 


4 
2 
1 


5 


3 

2 


2 




8 j 1 
2 


3 




1 




1 
5 










8 


1 
1 

2 
3 
1 


1 
1 
1 
1 

4 
2 


2 

1 
1 


4 
1 


2 




7 2 




Physical education. . 
Nature study 


3 
5 
9 

4 
1 

1 
1 


1 
2 
3 
1 
1 


1 


1 


2 




2 












Ij 2 



















1 


i 




Total 


243 
36 


134 

20 


92 

14 


63 
9 


45 

7 


22 j 25 

3 1 4 

1 


9 
1 


18 
3 


17 


Per cent 


3 







GRADE SPACE ASSIGNED TO EACH SUBJECT. 

The percentage of total space allotted of 44 courses to general sug- 
gestions and to each grade that is assigned to each subject is given in 
Table 12. 

The largest grade space assignments are made to reading in the first 
grade, to arithmetic in the second and third, to geography in inter- 
mediate grades, and to history and agriculture in the upper grades. 
Language is prominent in every grade. The percentages of grade 
space decrease in reading from the first to the eighth grade; in history 
and agriculture they increase. Relatively little grade space is allotted 
to each of several subjects, especially to physical education and to 
manners and morals. 

Table 12 is useful as a guide in determining the subjects in each 
grade for which it is desirable to provide outlines in a course of study. 
If practice is a safe criterion for judgment, it may be concluded that 
there should be outlines for practically every year in reading, language, 
and arithmetic; that geography should be outlined for intermedi- 
ate grades; nature study, in lower grades; hygiene, in the sixth and 
seventh; history, in the four upper grades; and agriculture and house- 
hold arts, in the seventh and eighth. This may be concluded with 
a high degree of certainty where figures in the table are comparatively 
large. Conversely, the same can not be concluded where figures are 
small, for reasons pointed out earlier in this chapter. Table 9, for 
example, shows that grade outlines in spelling are proAdded in 
almost all courses, and the small figures in Table 12 are an indication 
of the brevity of spelling outlines. This may also be observed from 
Table 11. In regard to subjects in a given grade where the percent- 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 



37 



age of space allotment is small because of the few grade outlines pro- 
vided, it is safe to say that provision for the teaching of such subjects 
is made in the outlines of other subjects, or not at all. These data 
indicate the subjects in each grade for which it is desirable to pro- 
vide regular periods on the daily program as well as outlines for 
study. They have served the writer a useful purpose in arranging 
the balanced schedule of class periods given in Table 7. 

Table 12. — Per cent of total space allotment to general suggestions and to each grade 
that is assigned to each subject in 44 State courses of study. 

[Derived from Table 10.] 













Grades. 










Subjects. 


General 


















Per 

cent per 






















tions. 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


subject. 




8 
6 
4 
5 


30 
16 

4 
3 


15 

17 
5 
3 


12 
17 
5 
2 


10 
15 

4 
2 


8 
13 
4 
2 


7 

12 

3 

1 


4 
9 
2 

1 


5 

11 

2 

1 


10 




11 




4 


Handwriting 


2 


Arithmetic 


6 


15 


24 


23 


18 


18 


16 


8 


8 


13 


History 


5 


4 


6 


5 


6 


10 


15 


17 


16 


10 




3 
5 






1 
1 


1 
1 


1 
1 


1 
1 


9 

1 


6 

1 


3 


Manners and morals. 


1 


1 


2 


Geography 


4 


2 


4 


13 


22 


21 


20 


10 


7 


10 


Hygiene 


7 


3 


3 


4 


4 


5 


7 


7 


4 





Physical education . . 


12 


1 


2 


2 


2 


1 


1 


1 


1 


4 


Nature study 


5 


9 


9 


/ 


6 


4 


3 


1 




4 




7 


1 


1 


1 


1 


3 


5 


17 


23 


8 


Household arts 


9 










1 


3 


8 


10 






4 
5 


3 
5 


2 

5 


1 
4 


2 

4 


2 

4 


1 
3 


2 
2 


2 
2 


2 


Drawing 


4 


Music 


5 


3 


3 


2 


2 


2 


1 


1 


1 


3 


Total 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 



SUBJECT SPACE ASSIGNED TO EACH GRADE. 

The percentage of total space allotted by 44 courses to each sub- 
ject that is assigned to general suggestions and to each grade is given 
in Table 13. 

Table 13. — Per cent of total space allotment to each subject that is assigned to general 
suggestions and to each grade in 44 State courses of study. 

[Derived from Table 10.] 



Subjects. 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Arithmetic 

History 

Civics 

Manners and morals 

Geography 

Hygiene 

Physical education. 

Nature study 

Agriculture 

Household arts 

Manual arts 

Drawing 

Music 

All subjects.. 



General 

sugges- 
tions. 



Grades. 



Total. 



100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 



38 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL, SCHOOLS. 



One of the striking features about Table 13 is the large amount of 
space in several subjects that is given to general suggestions. In 
10 subjects the amount exceeds that of any grade. One-fourth of the 
space allotted to all subjects is assigned to ungraded material. For 
some subjects this amount is much larger than for others. This is 
particularly true of physical education and of manners and morals. 
Where practice conforms so largely to ungraded outlines or discus- 
sions of a general nature as in these two subjects, there is evidently 
no need for graded outlines. 

In the grades of any given subject where the figures are quite 
small, it appears desirable to correlate the material with the outlines 
of other subjects. Agriculture in the first four grades, for example, 
could be made a part of the nature-study outline. This table, too, 
has been a valuable guide in determining the program of time dis- 
tribution of Table 7, as it has been assumed that regular class peri- 
ods should be provided for only those grades in each subject for 
which outlines are provided, and vice versa. 

PERCENTAGE OF SPACE ALLOTMENT. 

The number of pages assigned by 44 courses to all grades and sub- 
jects was presented in Table 10. By turning this table into percent- 
ages Table 14 was derived. In this table the hundredth part of the 
space allotted to any subject in any grade may be observed, and 
if attention is not given to the decimal point the table can be read 
in thousandths. It presents the characteristic features of space 
already noted. 

Table 14. — Per cent of total space allotment (8,551 pages) that is assigned to general 
suggestions and to each grade in each subject in 44 State courses of study. 









[Derived from Table 10.] 










Subjects. 


General 
sugges- 
tions. 








Grades. 








Total. 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 




1.9 
1.4 
1.1 
1.2 
1.6 
1.2 

.8 
1.2 

.9 
1.8 
2.9 
1.4 
1.9 
2.2 

.9 
1.3 
1.3 


2.4 
1.3 
.3 
.2 
1.2 
.3 


0.9 
1.1 
.3 
.2 
1.5 
.4 


0.9 
1.3 
.4 
.2 
1.8 
.4 


0.8 
1.2 
.3 
.2 
1.4 
.5 
.1 


0.7 
1.1 
.4 
.1 
1.4 
.9 
.2 


0.6 
1.1 
.3 
.1 
1.4 
1.4 
.1 


0.6 

1.3 

.4 

.1 

1.2 

2.5 

1.3 

.1 

1.4 

1.0 

.1 

.1 

2.4 

1.2 

.2 

.3 

.1 


0.7 
1.4 
.3 
.1 
1.1 
2.1 
.8 
.1 
.9 
.5 
.1 

3.0 
1.3 
.2 
.3 
.1 


9.5 




11.2 




3.8 


Handwriting 


2.4 

12.6 




9.7 




3.3 




.1 

.2 
.2 
.1 

.7 
.1 


.2 
.2 
.1 
.6 
.1 


.1 
1.0 
.3 
.2 
.5 
.1 


1.6 




1.8 
.3 
.2 
.5 
.1 


1.7 
.4 
.1 
.3 
.2 
.1 
.2 
.3 
.2 


1.8 
.7 
.1 
.3 
.5 
.3 
.1 
.3 
.1 


9.9 




5.4 


Physical education.. 

Nature study 

Agriculture 


3.9 
4.4 
8.4 
5.1 




.2 
.4 
.3 


.2 
.3 
.2 


.1 
.3 
.2 


.2 
.3 
.2 


2.3 




3.8 

2.7 






Total 


24.9 


8.0 


6.3 


7.8 


8.1 


8.1 


9.5 


14.3 


13.0 


100.0 







RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 39 

It is clearly impossible for one-teacher schools to provide regular 
class periods for all subjects in each grade in which courses of study 
contain outlines. It is quite as impossible for children of average 
ability to have 17 subjects for daily study and recitation. The prob- 
lem is to bring the number of classes, and therefore the number of 
outlines, within the range of reasonable possibility for teachers and 
pupils in one-teacher schools. 

Table 14 contains suggestions for the solution of this problem. It 
is less desirable to provide graded outlines in the grades of each 
subject where the percentages of total space allotment are especially 
small than to provide them where the percentages are quite large. 
If grade outlines were provided for only those grades in each subject 
where the per cent as shown in Table 14 is more than 0.5, the num- 
ber of subject outlines for any one grade would be between 4 and 9. 

Arithmetic I^t^r^r ~ 1 

Language BHfffr^ 1 

Geography m%% I 

Histor y 1 . I 

Reading HlWflff I 

Agriculture ^ I JHM ~ ~| 

Hygiene HHTffl P'^P ? 

Household arts BtftjBJjJ Mbgg^ f 

Nature study B M 1 

Physical education ^ 1 

» 
Spelling BSffi 

Drawing tUML& uM — j 

Civics HKj| 1 

*• 
Music WBSHB& 1 

Handwriting 8H9H i 

Manual arts gagSE I 

Manners and morals ^BE~1 

Figuee 2.— Percentage of total space in 44 State courses of study allotted to 17 school subjects. Portion 
in black indicates space devoted to general suggestions. Portion in outline indicates space devoted 
to the grades in each subject. 

By weaving together the teaching materials of history and civics 
into one outline, and those of agriculture and household arts into 
another, the number of outlines for any one grade need not 
exceed 7. In the case of outlines for grades where the percent- 



40 



.STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



ages are less than 0.5, three methods may be suggested — to combine 
the teaching materials with other subjects; to provide outlines in a 
subject for combination of certain grades ranging in number from 
2 to 4; or to provide general suggestions, perhaps in the form 
of ungraded outlines. These suggestions have aided the writer in 
arranging the balanced schedule of class periods contained in Table 7. 

THE AVERAGE COURSE OF STUDY. 

The total number of pages allotted to each grade in each subject 
(Table 10) was divided by 44, the total number of courses, to deter- 
mine the average space allotment. The results as given in Table 15 
show what the length of any outline would be if all 44 courses would 
share equally in the amount of space assigned. This method of 
measuring the central tendency is particularly advantageous in those 
subjects in which very few outlines for certain grades are provided. 

Table 15.- — Average number of pages 44 State courses give to general suggestions and to 

each grade in each subject. 



Subjects. 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Arithmetic 

History 

Civics 

Manners and morals. 

Geography 

Hygiene 

Physical education. . 

Nature study 

Agriculture 

Household arts 

Manual arts 

Drawing 

Music 

Total 



General 
sugges^ 
tions. 



3.8 
2.8 
2.1 
2.2 
3.1 
2.3 
1.5 
2.2 
1.8 
3.5 
5.7 
2.7 
3.7 
4.3 
1.8 
2.5 
2.6 



48.6 



Grades. 



4.6 

2.5 

.6 

.5 

2.3 

.5 



1.8 
2.1 

.7 

.3 

2.9 

.7 



.1 

.7 
.4 
.3 
1.1 
.1 



1.8 

2.5 
.7 
.3 

3.5 
.8 
.1 
.1 

2.2 
.5 
.3 

1.0 
.1 



15.1 



1.5 
2.3 

.7 
.4 

2.7 
.9 
.1 
.1 

3.5 
.7 
.4 
.9 
.1 



15.5 



1.3 
2.1 

.7 
.3 
2.8 
1.7 
.3 
.1 
3.3 
.7 
.2 
.6 
.4 
.3 
.3 
.6 
.3 



16.0 



1.1 

2.1 

.6 

.3 

2.8 

2.7 

.2 

.1 

3.6 

1.2 

.2 

.5 

1.0 

.6 

.2 

.6 

.3 



18.1 



1.1 

2.5 

.7 

.2 

2.3 

4.8 

2.5 

.2 

2.7 

1.9 

. 2 

'.2 

4.6 

2.3 

.5 

.5 

.3 



27.5 



1.4 

2.8 

.6 

.2 

2.1 

4.1 

1.5 

.2 

1.8 

1.1 

.2 

.1 

5.9 

2.5 

.5 

.5 

.3 



25.8 



Total. 



18.4 

21.7 

7.4 

4.7 

24.5 

18.5 

6.2 

3.2 

20.0 

10.4 

7.7 

8.5 

16.0 

10.0 

4.6 

7.3 

5.4 



194.5 



The average course of study contains 214 pages, 20 pages of which 
are assigned to topics of a general nature aside from the school sub- 
jects (Ch. II). The average number of pages allotted to the subjects 
is 194.5. 

This average amount of space is distributed very unevenly among 
the several grades and subjects. The range of averages for any grade 
is largest in the eighth (5.9 pages) and least in the second (2.9 pages). 
For any subject the range of grade averages is largest in agriculture 
(5.9 pages) and least in spelling or manners and morals (0.1 page). 
The largest space assignment to any grade in any subject is in eighth 
grade agriculture (5.9 pages). The distribution of total average 
space for all subjects varies from 12.5 pages in the second to 27.5 
pages in the seventh. The large number of pages given to general 
suggestions (48.6 pages) is especially worthy of notice. 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 



41 



This uneven distribution of average space assignment is due in part 
to the irregular number of courses provided for the various grades 
and subjects, shown in Table 9. It is also due to the varying lengths 
of outlines in the several grades and subjects the 44 courses contain. 
This was indicated earlier in this chapter, but it is best illustrated 
below by the variableness of percentages of space assignments. 
Possibly the deeper causes inherent in the nature of each subject, 
such as formal rather than content material, have more to do with 
the unequal lengths of grade outlines than either number of courses 
or lengths of individual outlines. 

VARIABLE NATURE OF DISTRIBUTION OF SPACE. 

To determine the extent of variability in the distribution of space 
assignments, percentages rather than number of pages were used. 
By dividing the number of pages a course of study gave to one sub- 
ject by the total number of pages given to all subjects, percentage 
ratios for the school subjects were determined. Similarly the number 
of pages a course gave to general suggestions and grade outlines of a 
subject divided by the total number of pages the course allotted to 
that subject gave the percentage ratios for grade distribution of space 
assignments. 

There is almost every degree of space allotment given to each 
school subject. Of the space given to all subjects, one course gives 
41 per cent to agriculture, another 40 per cent to arithmetic, and 
another 31 per cent to geography. Three courses give to two sub- 
jects over half the space given to all subjects. The range in the per 
cent of space given to 17 subjects is from zero to 41 per cent (Oregon). 
The least variation in relative length of outlines is represented by 
the Montana course, in which the range is from 1 to 13 per cent of 
total space. 

Table 16. — Medians of -percentages of space allotted in each of the 44 State courses of 
study to each subject that is assigned to general suggestions and to each grade. 1 





Medians of percentages. 


Subjects. 


General 
sugges- 
tions. 


Grade 
1. 


Grade 
2. 


Grade 
3. 


Grade ■ Grade 
4. 5. 


Grade 
6. 


Grade 

7. 


Grade 

8. 


Reading 


11 
6 
16 
42 
6 
9 


21 
12 
9 
6 
10 
2 


10 
10 
7 
6 

13 
3 


9 
11 

8 

5 
12 

4 


8 9 

9 9 


6 
10 
8 
4 
10 
12 


7 
10 
7 
2 
9 
20 


4 




10 




8 
5 
10 

4 


9 
4 

10 
10 


8 








7 




20 




32 


Manners and morals 


3 

3 

17 

65 

5 

2 

12 

31 

32 
























7 
3 


17 
4 


15 
6 


17 
8 


13 
9 






2 


2 


2 






Nature study 


12 


12 


8 


5 






1 








30 


31 


Household arts 










Drawing 


4 
5 


4 1 5 
1 


6 5 


7 


5 




Music 














1 



1 No medians for manual arts. 
23606—23 4 



42 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

To offset the unfavorable effect of very large and very small per- 
centages of space, medians for all subjects and for each grade in each 
subject were computed. Forty-four courses were used as a basis for 
finding the medians in each subject. Those medians are given in 
Table 16. 

The medians for each grade in language range from 9 to 12 per 
cent ; in spelling, from 7 to 9 per cent. In agriculture there are grade 
medians for the two upper grades only, and these medians are com- 
paratively large. In all grades where there were fewer than 22 
courses represented (Table 9), no medians were found. The large 
median of percentages under general suggestions in physical education 
indicates a very common plan of providing ungraded material in this 
subject. This is true to less degree of handwriting, music, and 
drawing. 

In every grade in every subject, except language, spelling, arith- 
metic, history, and geography, the first quartile range from the me- 
dians is zero. In no grade is this first quartile range higher than 9 
per cent, except in first-grade reading (14 per cent), in seventh-grade 
history (11 per cent), and in intermediate grades in geography. 

The third quartile range from the medians represents a variation 
from zero in all grades in each subject with fewer than 11 courses 
(Table 9) to 95 per cent in eighth-grade civics and 50 per cent in 
agriculture in the upper grades. The third quartile measure is nearly 
the same for all grades in spelling, 12 to 14 per cent; in drawing, 10 
or 11 per cent; and in manual arts, 4 to 6 per cent. It is less con- 
stant in language, 11 to 19 per cent; in handwriting, 7 to 14 per 
cent; in arithmetic, 12 to 19 per cent; and in music, 6 to 12 per 
cent. The range of this quartile is larger for first-grade reading (32 
per cent); in the first three grades in nature study, 19 and 20 per 
Cent; and in household arts for the seventh and eighth, 24 per cent. 
For general suggestions this measure is 100 per cent in six subjects. 

RELATIVE PROMINENCE OF SUBJECTS. 

The elementary subjects are ranked according to their prominence 
in State courses of study. For this purpose five measures were used : 

1. Average number of pages 44 courses assign to each subject. (Table 15.) 

2. Median number of pages 44 courses assign to each subject. 

3. Percentage of total space assigned to all subjects that is devoted to each 

subject. (Table 12.) 

4. Medians of percentages of total space in each course of study devoted to 

each subject. 

5. Percentage of recitation time 26 model programs assign to each subject. 

(Computed from Table 6.) 

Arithmetic is the most prominent subject in the curriculum. It 
ranks first in Table 17 on every count save on percentage of recitation 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 



43 



time. But even here it receives approximately one-fifth of total time 
on the daily program. State survey reports tend to show that many 
children spent altogether too much time on this subject. Often one- 
fourth of the day (the second quarter) is given to it. The large 
amount of space in courses and time on programs given to arithmetic 
suggests the possibility of reducing the amount to allow of more 
time and attention to other subjects crowding the curriculum. 

Table 17. — Rank of elementary school subjects as determined by five measures of their 
•prominence in 44 State courses. 



Subjects. 



Arithmetic 

Language 

Reading 

Geography 

History 

Agriculture 

Hygiene 

Nature study 

Spelling 

Household arts 

Drawing 

Music 

Handwriting 

Civics 

Physical education. . 

Manual arts 

Manners and morals . 



Total. 



Rank. 



Pages 

per 

course. 



Median 
number 
of pages. 



21.1 
16.3 
14.8 
15.0 
13.1 
15.1 
6.0 
5.4 
4.5 
3.9 
5.4 
4.2 
3.1 
2.6 
.5 
2.3 



Per cent 
of total 
space. 



100 



Medians 

of per 
cents of 
space. 



11.0 
10.5 
9.5 
10.0 
8.0 
5.5 
4.0 
3.5 
3.0 
3.0 
3.0 
2.5 
2.0 
2.0 
1.0 
1.5 
1.0 



<3.0 



Per cent 
of class time. 



26 


50 


programs. 


cities. 1 


19.1 


13.3 


17.0 


11.4 


23.8 


17.4 


9.5 


7.1 


6.9 


6.5 


2.1 




4.1 


4.4 


2.3 


(*) 


9.2 


6.4 


.2 




.9 


6.1 


1.1 


4.8 


2.1 


5.3 


.9 


( 8 ) 


.2 


4.2 


.4 


6.6 


.2 





100.0 



92.5 



1 Fifty cities placed here for comparison only. They are not used in ranking. History includes civics; 
hygiene includes nature study. Manners and morals (ethics) is included with opening exercises.— Four- 
teenth Year Book, Part I. v. 26. 

» Hygiene. 

» History. 

* Median. 

Language and reading hold almost as prominent place as arith- 
metic, and the content subjects of geography, history, agriculture, 
hygiene, and nature study rank next in order. Agriculture, but 
recently introduced, already holds one of the foremost places in the 
curriculum. There is an evident tendency to lengthen the outlines 
of these content subjects at the expense of those more formal. As 
outlines of content subjects are usually limited to fewer grades, their 
prominence in the curriculum is even more marked. 

The outlines in handwriting are usually short and ungraded, but a 
higher place is accorded this subject on programs. Its importance 
is not fully tested by its prominence in State courses. 

Physical education has sprung into importance since the war, as 
shown by the amount of State legislation in its favor, but courses of 
study rank the subject as one of the lowest. In one-teacher schools 
it is given attention only in play periods. The change from this 
custom due to public opinion and legislation remains to be seen. 



44 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOE RURAL SCHOOLS. 

A number of subjects which receive little instruction by regular 
class periods also rank lowest in space allotments for outlines. This 
is particularly true of manners and morals, a subject taught largely 
through incidental and indirect means. It is also largely true of 
physical education, drawing, music, civics, and manual arts. Longer 
outlines have been provided in agriculture, household arts, and nature 
study, but there has been little recitation time provided for -them. 
Readjustments of time on programs are needed to meet the increas- 
ing popular demand for more attention to some of these subjects. 
The reader is referred to Table 8 for the amount of recitation time 
the writer has recommended for each subject. 

For purposes of comparison the amount of time given in 50 cities 
to various subjects is included in Table 17. 1 It is very evident that 
time allotments for city schools can not be used in rural schools. 
There is not one subject in which the proportions are exactly the 
same. The only agreement appears to be in relatively large amount 
of time given to some of the fundamental subjects — arithmetic, read- 
ing, language, spelling, geography, and history — and the small amount 
of time to other subjects. To drawing, music, handwriting, physical 
education, and manual arts, city programs give much more time, 
while the rural programs allot more time to geography, history, read- 
ing, language, and arithmetic. Drawing and music can usually not 
be taught to such good advantage in one-teacher schools, for want of 
the special teacher or of adequate supervision. It is unjust to small 
rural schools to superimpose city programs upon them. Time allot- 
ments for the two schools do not agree. 

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1. Seventeen elementary school subjects are outlined in 44 State 
courses of study. 

2. The most common or the most suggestive names were chosen 
for the various subjects, and outlines under different names were 
associated with the subject to which they evidently belonged. 

3. The number of outlines provided is 89 per cent of a full repre- 
sentation, i. e., an outline or general discussion for each subject in 
every course. 

4. Outlines for every grade in every one of the 17 subjects are pro- 
vided in one or more courses. This represents too many outlines to 
be used to advantage in one-teacher schools. This number needs to 
be materially lessened. 

5. The number of pages for the outlines in each subject and for each 
grade was computed to determine the relative prominence of the sub- 
jects in State courses. The method of quantitative treatment of time 

1 Holmes, " Time Distribution by Subjects and Grades in Representative Cities." Fourteenth Year- 
book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part I, 1915. p. 26. 



RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF SUBJECTS. 45 

on daily programs and space in printed courses represents but two 
factors in determining the relative importance of school subjects. 
Practice thus revealed can, therefore, be only suggestive. 

6. The total space assignments to each grade and to each subject 
are strikingly uneven, ranging from one page in several grades of each 
of two subjects to 259 pages in eighth-grade agriculture. This is due 
to the unequal number of outlines provided and the uneven lengths 
of individual outlines. 

7. The amount of space allotment to ungraded materials, or general 
suggestions, in each subject is surprisingly large. One-fourth of the 
space assigned to all subjects contains discussions of a general nature. 
Such suggestions are often as valuable and necessary as the outlines. 

8. Of 668 subject outlines provided, there are 243 containing fewer 
than 5 pages and 35 containing more than 40 pages. 

9. The percentage of space allotted to each grade that is assigned 
to each subject is exceedingly uneven. In the first grade, for example, 
the range is from zero to 30 per cent. The distribution is an index 
to the subjects in each grade for which it is desirable to provide out- 
lines and regular periods for class recitation on the school program 
(Table 12). 

10. The percentage of space allotted to each subject that is assigned 
to each grade is fairly even in the more formal subjects, such as spell- 
ing, and in subjects in which all pupils in one-teacher schools are 
grouped into one class, such as music. In other subjects the space 
distribution by grades is very uneven (Table 13). 

11. The thousandths part of total space (8,551 pages) assigned to 
each grade in each subject is given in Table 14 in the form of percent- 
ages. For all grades in each subject where the thousandths part is 
less than 5 it is suggested to combine the teaching materials with 
other subjects, to provide outlines for certain advisable combinations 
of grades in the same subject, or to provide ungraded outlines or 
courses for all pupils organized into one class. 

12. The average course of study contains 214 pages, 194.5 of which 
are assigned to the subjects (Table 15). The unevenness of the dis- 
tribution is similar to that of total space assignment given in Table 10. 

13. The distribution of total space in each State course of study 
that is assigned to each grade in each subject varies from zero to 41 
per cent. Medians of percentages of space assignment in each course 
present a range from zero in 59 grade positions of several subjects to 
32 per cent in eighth-grade civics. For general suggestions the me- 
dians in physical education and in several other subjects represent a 
very high percentage of space, which indicates a general practice of 
providing ungraded rather than graded material in these subjects. 



46 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

14. The courses for each grade vary in length from paragraph dis- 
cussions to outlines of many pages. The variability is greatest with 
the less formal subjects, for which all or almost all of the State courses 
provide outlines in certain grades. 

15. Subjects with more of content and less of form hold a prom- 
inent place in the curriculum, as shown by the relative amount of 
space allotted to them, 

16. Subjects receiving little or no class instruction are allotted less 
space than others. The amount of space given a subject is also 
affected by the number of grades or classes for which outlines are 
provided. 

17. Time allotments to various subjects in city systems are not 
adapted to one-teacher schools. Time allotments in the two schools 
do not agree except in the relatively large or small amount of time 
given to certain subjects. . 

18. To make it possible for all outlines to be utilized in one-teacher 
schools the following conditions are suggested: 

(a) Grade or clasa outlines provided for only those grades or classes in which chil- 
dren in rural schools receive instruction in regular recitation periods. 

(6) Ungraded outlines provided in subjects in which the school is formed into one 
class for instruction. 

(c) The work in other subjects coordinated with related outlines already provided. 

(d) The material in the various grades for each subject organized in such a way as 
to permit of alternation or rotation of outlines by years, in harmony with the organi- 
zation of one-teacher schools. 



Chapter V. 
SELECTION AND CORRELATION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 



PROBLEM. 

This chapter is introductory to and an explanation of later chap- 
ters (VI to X). For the understanding of this chapter the reader 
should refer to the following chapters, where the materials or topics 
themselves are classified and listed by subjects. 

Probably the most important work in making a rural course of 
study is that of selecting and correlating the subjects and topics to 
be used in teaching. The present chapter is a quantitative treatment 
of the content materials contained in State courses. It describes the 
methods used by the writer in selecting and eHminating topics. By 
a " topic " is meant any suggestive word or phrase which means sub- 
ject matter or teaching material. Pronouns, decimal fractions, nutri- 
tion, dairying, Monroe doctrine, shore forms, and rote singing are 
examples of topics. The chapter gives the number of topics contained 
inState courses of study, distributed by subjects. The extent of 
correlation recommended is also given. The immediate problem is to 
determine the quantity and distribution of materials of instruction 
appearing in the State publications and to discover ways and means 
of keeping the quantity within the limited possibilities of rural elemen- 
tary schools of eight grades. 

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION. 

It was shown in Table 9 that each of the 44 courses under survey 
does not contain an outline for each of the 17 school subjects. More- 
over, some subjects receive mere paragraph discussions in some 
courses. For the purpose of this survey of topics, it was decided, 
therefore, to choose for each subject separately the 35 State publica- 
tions which contained the most complete and detailed outlines. This 
made possible a selection of the best available courses in most sub- 
jects. In four subjects for which no more than 35 courses were 
available all courses were used. The subjects are manners and 
morals, physical education, household arts, and music. 

The relative prominence of topics appearing in the outlines for a 
subject was determined in the following manner: In reading through 
an outline the topics mentioned were listed in alphabetical order, and 
the grade outlines in which each topic appeared were indicated in the 

47 



48 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

list. Several of the longest and most detailed outlines were read first 
for the purpose of securing a fairly complete list. To facilitate tabu- 
lation this earlier list was rewritten. After all outlines in a subject 
were read and all tabulations made, it was possible to know the 
number of courses recommending a topic in any grade. The topics 
were then rearranged in the order of their frequency of appearance 
in the courses, beginning with the topic appearing most frequently. 
No topic was considered unless it appeared in at least two courses. 
The range in the number of courses in which topics appeared was 
found to be from 2 to 35. 

This method resulted in the production of long lists of topics in 
most subjects. It was decided to publish only those topics appearing 
most frequently. It was found with several trial subjects, that fairly 
short representative lists would be secured by selecting those topics 
that appeared in 40 per cent or more of the courses in a subject used. 
Thus, in the case of most subjects, topics had to appear in at least 
14 courses to find a place in the printed lists. In physical education 
this number was as low as 10. Again, there were very few outlines 
provided in some grades for some subjects, as shown in Table 9. 
This condition made a further provision necessary. It was decided 
to list for publication no topic which did not appear in at least 10 
outlines or courses for any given grade. Therefore, every topic listed 
in the later chapters (VI to X) of this survey appeared in 40 per 
cent or more of the 35 (or fewer) outlines used in each subject and in 
at least 10 outlines for some one grade. 

This arbitrarily chosen 40 per cent line of demarcation between 
topics listed and not listed for publication is used, for the purpose of 
this survey, as a basis for defining selected and eliminated topics. A 
selected topic is one that appears in a sufficient number of courses to 
be listed for publication. An eliminated topic is one that appears in 
too few courses to be included in the survey lists. The method 
determines the relative prominence of topics in State publications. 
It passes judgment upon the topics only in so far as they occur 
frequently in the courses. Considerable importance may be attached 
to the selected topics. 

By eliminating topics from the survey lists which appeared in fewer 
than 40 per cent of the courses the writer is aware of the possibility of 
excluding many teaching materials worthy of being selected for use" 
in the schools. There may be some suggestive topics giving promise 
of much profitable school work which have been included in only a 
few courses, and perhaps in only one. The survey lists do not, in all 
probability, include some of the most progressive topics, for the 
reason that their origin is too recent to appear in more than a few 
courses. To give the reader an opportunity to observe the character 
of the topics excluded from the survey lists, it was decided to publish 



SELECTION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 49 

those appearing in 5 to 13 courses. These are given in connection 
with the analysis of topics under each school subject (Chs. VI to X). 
No account has been taken in the survey of topics appearing in fewer 
than five courses, although some of these topics may also be worthy 
of a place in every course of study for rural schools. 

TYPES OF TOPICS. 

There are in general three types of topics included in the survey 
lists — subject-matter topics, method topics, and topics referring to 
aims in teaching. By far the most common of these in most subjects 
are the subject-matter topics, such as, fractions, colonization of 
America, Cuba, farm crops, and verbs. While the writer's primary 
interest was centered in these topics, it was not thought wise to 
exclude other types. 

Topics pertaining to methods of work are mentioned prominently 
in some subjects, such as handwriting. Position of body in writing, 
air- and dry-pen writing, and movement drills are examples of such 
topics. It was not always easy to separate them from subject-matter 
topics. A number of courses are manuals of methods quite as much 
as outlines of content. There is a tendency in some of the more 
recently published courses (New Jersey, Minnesota) to make content 
secondary to method. For these reasons method topics have been 
left in the surve} 7 lists. 

Topics which by their nature are aims rather than content topics 
appear in the lists. Certain habits to be formed or virtues to be 
acquired, such as neatness and cleanliness, are of this type of topic. 
Even though such "purpose" topics are embodied in the outlines, as 
is frequently and wisely done, they deserve as well a more prominent 
position at the first of the outlines. The untrained and unsupervised 
rural teacher needs the help derived from a full and clear statement 
of purposes for each subject and for each grade in each subject for 
which outlines are provided. For this reason aims in each subject 
mentioned in the courses have been collected and summarized. (Cf . 
Reading aims, Ch. VI.) Sometimes two or three related aims are 
given as one. The aims as stated in the summarized form also occa- 
sionally include those where two or three related aims are given as 
one. Forming habits of writing legibly, rapidly, and easily is an aim 
of this kind. By this means aims could be stated in more compact 
form, as well as in a clear, forceful way. 

SELECTION OF TOPICS. 

The need for a more carefully selected list of teaching materials 
becomes evident upon the analysis of topics in State courses. The 
details of criticism are left to later chapters. The general character 
of topics and the bases and methods for their selection may be given 
here. 



50 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

There are topics of every variety and description. Three general 
types have been noted. Among the topics are those that are per- 
manently useful, such as pronouns and addition. There are also 
those that do not function very largely in life, such as cube root and 
parsing. Some are strikingly traditional, such as diagraming and 
the use of copybooks. Some are modern and progressive, such as 
farm crops and community civics. Some have been noted as broad 
in scope, such as commerce and memorization. Others refer to 
details in application, such as care of teeth and key signature. Some 
are poorly adapted to rural children, such as police systems and 
city governments. Some worthy topics are mentioned infrequently, 
such as automobiles and the study of clothing. Many topics fre- 
quently mentioned are also essential to a modern course of study, 
such as food preparation and the correct use of words. 

Rural courses have been criticized for their failure to meet the 
needs of schools to-day. It is possible that the following quotations 
are too critical for general application: 

The curriculum of the country school contains little or nothing that distinctly 
prepares for country life. 1 

The present elementary course is in effect an antiquated type of school program. 
It makes no provisions for activities now regarded as essential to a well-rounded 
elementary education. 3 

Our schools spend too much time in acquiring the working tools of education 
because the subject matter is cumbered with all kind of unnecessary timber, and the 
methods of presentation are inadequate. The schools do not devote enough time to 
the things which serve a real purpose. 3 

There are important factors in the selection of topics. Some of 
these factors are the experiences of children, the everyday needs of 
life, worth of materials. to children and to society, changed conditions 
in rural life, average ability of rural teachers, school facilities, average 
length of term, and national and community ideals. These factors 
emphasize the need for omitting some topics now in the rural curric- 
ulum and for including others. 

This matter of selecting topics for a State course of study should 
doubtless be intrusted to State department members, rural super- 
visors, county administrative workers, and live rural teachers, as was 
pointed out in Chapter I. Some courses have left this work too 
largely to the teacher, as is indicated in the following quotations. 
The teacher's task is not so much the selection of topics as that of 
deciding upon the amount of time and effort individual pupils should 
put upon a topic. The economic problem of teaching a topic or prob- 
lem to the extent of its educational usefulness must be finally solved 
by the classroom teacher. 

1 Public Education in Maryland, p. 37. Maryland Educational Survey Commission. 
* Public Education in Delaware, p. 50. General Education Board, 
a Foght, The Rural Teacher and His Work, p. 228. 



SELECTION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 51 

The selection of topics which are most important and best adapted to the purpose 
for which the course is intended, and the organization of the subject matter around 
them, are matters for the educational expert.* 

The selection and organization of topics for study is a task entirely beyond the . 
ability of the untrained teacher. Unless the course of study provides this organi- 
zation, it usually follows that the teacher falls back on the textbooks. Memorizing 
facts as given in the book and repeating them directly to the teacher in the recitation 
becomes the chief purpose of the pupils. The possibilities of the recitation are 
entirely lost in mere routine; there is no discussion, no opportunity to exercise 
judgment, and no time for thinking. 5 

RELATIONSHIP OF LISTED TOPICS. 

It was explained at the beginning of this chapter that topics in 
this investigation are taken to mean words or phrases naming teach- 
ing materials contained in the outlines of the courses in each subject. 
The topics in more than 9,000 pages of print were expressed in a 
very great variety of words and phrases. There are often several 
ways in which to express the same thought. The same words or 
phrases in different contexts frequently mean different things. It 
was not always an easy task to determine the exact meaning of a 
topic or the best way to express it. Careful interpretation of 
thought was needed to tabulate a topic correctly, when it was not 
clearly or specially stated. To combine into one, topics similar in 
meaning but of different phraseology, and to record accurately the 
frequency with which each topic occurred in the outlines, were prob- 
lems constantly requiring diligence and painstaking effort while read- 
ing through the courses of study. 

Some names occur in the outlines of courses as two or more topics 
which are largely, if not wholly, synonymous in meaning such as 
colonization and settlements, lowlands and depressions. Such names 
are listed as one topic. 

Some names are often found treated together, although they are 
unlike in meaning. These names were written as one topic, unless 
each was considered of sufficient breadth or scope to entitle it to a 
separate place in the list. Examples of such topics are "senators, 
representatives," "exports, imports," and "brain, spinal cord." 

Some topics of two or more words name activities and also the 
results of activities, when the one does not necessarily include the 
other. Examples of such topics are "laws, lawmaking," "drawing, 
drawings," and "furs, fur trading." 

Some topics are comprehensive and broad in meaning. They in- 
clude in part or in whole the meaning contained in other topics. 
The topics "composition" and "continents" are of this type. Thus 
there are eight topics which include practically all topics listed in 
language. The problem of this analytic survey was not to limit 

*U. S. Bu. of Educ, Bui. No. 5, 1917, p. 70. Report on an inquiry into the Administration and 
Support of the Colorado School System. 

*TJ. S. Bu. of Educ, Bui. No. 44, 1917, p. 132. Educational Conditions in Arizona. 



52 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

search to broad inclusive topics only, but rather to find all topics 
regardless of their scope or their specific and detailed nature, and to 
list them according to their frequency of occurrence in the courses. 
It happens, therefore, that "verbs," a somewhat comprehensive topic, 
include at least 10 other topics in the list, such as "tense of verbs" 
and "auxiliary verbs," and it is these topics of greater detail that 
indicate in what ways and to what extent State courses recommend 
that verbs should be taught. 

However similar some topics in a list appear to be, or however 
much some topics are included in others of wider scope, there are 
no two topics in the list for any subject which are identical in mean- 
ing. It may be observed, for example, that "circular measure" is 
not all of "denominate numbers," that "highlands" are not the 
only "land forms," that "thought getting" is not always just 
"information reading," that the "use of the dictionary" may mean 
something very different than "defining words," that "sounds, 
sound combinations" are not identical with "phonic method," and 
that "climate" is something more than "temperature." That many 
topics are included in some form in practically all courses is quite 
evident, but no topic was recorded as appearing in an outline when 
its presence could not be definitely and surely known. Thus, the 
topic "verbs" was not scored when the topic "parts of speech" ap- 
peared. Words were not considered defined when "use of the diction- 
ary" was mentioned, nor was "dictionary lessons" scored when 
"defining words" was given. Every effort was made to discriminate 
carefully between meanings of topics. Thus each topic is listed in the 
group to which it was assigned by the number of courses in which it 
appeared, regardless of any possible inference that it might belong 
to or be included in some other topic. 

The exact number of courses in which each topic appeared, and the 
number of courses in each grade in which each topic appeared, were 
at first recorded in lengthy tables containing many figures. To place 
the topics in more convenient form for publication, it was decided to 
group them into those appearing in 80 per cent or more of the courses, 
those appearing in 60 to 80 per cent of the courses, and those 
appearing in 40 to 60 per cent of the courses. In each group 
the topics remain listed in the order of their frequency of occur- 
rence in the courses. The groups will doubtless reveal sufficiently 
well for all practical purposes the relative prominence of topics 
in the courses. 

The more limited lists of topics may be taken to represent the 
higher degree of emphasis the more frequently mentioned topics are 
given, and possibly should be given, in course-of-study outlines. 
Because of their greater frequency of appearance, there is greater cer- 
tainty that these topics should comprise at least a portion of the 



SELECTION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 



53 



topics included in a national curriculum for rural elementary schools. 
They may also be useful for further investigation and study. 

The frequency with which a topic appears does not pass judgment 
on its merits except as, by virtue of its importance, it has found ready 
recognition in many courses. There are topics of long standing that 
are still used by custom rather than by proper evaluation. There 
are topics recently introduced which have not as yet received nation- 
wide recognition. This method of selection can not satisfy all con- 
ditions. What it does do is to select those topics quite universally 
accepted as standard. It also gives the rank each topic so selected 
holds. The addition of important present-day topics, and the amount 
of attention to be given each topic in instruction in the several grades, 
are problems which this investigation does not undertake to solve. 

NUMBER OF TOPICS. 

Table 18 shows that there are 3,504 topics which appear in the 
subject outlines of two or more courses. With this many topics in 
the curriculum a pupil attending daily throughout the elementary- 
school period of nine months each year would have an average of only 
two hours for the study and mastery of each topic. Among the topics 
are such as addition, commerce, dairying, word study, nouns, inven- 
tions, local government, and health habits. If these and many others 
are to be mastered with anydegree of thoroughness, it appears that 
a large majority of the 3,500 topics must be eliminated from the lists 
to be studied at length in school. 



Table 18. — Number of topics appearing in at least 2 out not more than .35 State courses 

of study. • 

{Selected topics are contained in the survey lists of Chapters VI to X. Eliminated topics appear in fewer 
than 40 per cent of the courses used for each subject.] 



Subjects. 



Number of topics. 



Selected. 'Eliminated 



Total. 



Per cent 
eliminated. 



Per cent 

of selected 

topics. 



Reading i 

Language l 

Spelling i 

Handwriting l 

Arithmetic l 

History i 

Civics i 

Manners and morals 

Geography 1 

Hygiene 

Physical education l 

Nature study 

Agriculture 

Household arts 

Manual arts 

Drawing 1 

Music 1 

Total 



90 
150 
31 
46 
119 
171 
36 
50 
146 
113 
26 
92 
136 
85 
33 
54 
56 



1,434 



101 
163 

11 

32 
132 
285 

47 
119 
205 
119 

34 
117 
181 
252 
101 
134 

37 



191 
313 

42 

78 
251 
456 

83 
169 
351 
232 

60 
209 
317 
337 
134 
188 

93 



2,069 



3,504 



6.3 
10.5 
2.2 
3.2 
8.4 
12.1 
2.5 
3.5 
10.1 
7.8 
1.8 
6.4 
9.3 
6.0 
2.3 
3.7 
3.9 



100.0 



1 Considered from the standpoint of minimal essentials by the committee on economy of time and 
reported in the yearbooks of the Society for the Study of Education. Only 6 of the 17 subjects in this list 
remain to be considered by the committee. 



54 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



Fifty-nine per cent of all topics have been eliminated. This leaves 
1,434 topics which have been included in the survey lists for 17 sub- 
jects. There are 1,440 days in the elementary-school period of nine 
months each year for eight years. There is, therefore, in the survey 
lists an average of a topic a day. Some topics are found in the lists 
of two or more subjects. Eliminating duplications by subjects, there 
are 1,192 different topics selected. Nonattendance, holidays, and 
shorter terms in many rural schools may counterbalance with the net 
number of topics selected, so that there is still an average of a topic 
a day for many rural children. In consideration of the scope and 
importance of such topics as subtraction, poultry, the sentence, North 
America, and public highways, the increase in time for the average 
topic from two to six hours (or a day) receives some justification. 
There is nothing in this survey to show, however, that children can 
master the average topic in a day with the degree of efficiency which 
the aims of the school may require. 

The "content" subjects are richest in materials and receive the 
highest percentages of eliminations. Language has many topics, which 
is possibly due to additions from the recent trend toward the practical 
and useful in language instruction. Spelling and handwriting, so 
called "form" subjects, are among those having relatively few elim- 
inations. While most subjects have varying amounts of both form 
and content materials, it is evident that topics more purely formal 
are not eliminated in as large proportions as are the topics relating 
to content materials. The doubtful importance of many content 
topics may cause them to be eliminated more readily than topics of 
form. 

GRADE DISTRIBUTION OF TOPICS. 

The number of topics for each grade contained in the survey lists 
is given in Table 19. 

Table 19. — Number of topics contained in the survey lists (Chs. VI to X), distributed 

by grades and subjects. 1 



Subjects. 


Number of topics. 


Grade 1. 


Grade 2. 


Grade 3. 


Grade 4. 


Grade 5. 


Grade 6. 


Grade 7. 


Grade 8. 


Beading 


43 
32 
10 
19 
15 
19 


22 
26 
11 
19 
30 
20 


27 
31 
13 
25 
31 
18 


24 
31 
16 
25 
36 
15 


20 
40 
16 
20 
36 
14 


20 
50 
18 
20 
40 
24 


25 
64 

17 
14 
47 
63 
14 
49 
77 


27 




69 




16 


Handwriting 


14 


Arithmetic 


29 




101 




35 


Geography 




8 
19 
65 


43 

27 
36 


64 
21 
43 


48 
38 
21 


95 

54 
10 


25 


Hygiene 


19 

57 


27 








116, 
17 
19 

7 


118 


Manual arts 


20 
23 
11 


20 
22 

14 


20 
26 
14 


19 
29 

21 


19 
21 
12 


19 
24 
9 


17 


Drawing 


17 


Music 


4 






Total 


268 
18 


276 
19 


311 
22 


344 

24 


305 
21 


383 
27 


529 
37 


499 


Percent of 1,434 topics 


35 



1 The ungraded subjects are: Physical education, 26 topics; manners and morals, 50 topics; household 
arts, 85 topics. 



SELECTION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 55 

One of the important conditions revealed by this table is the large 
number of topics assigned to each grade. Every year a pupil is 
required to take from one-fifth to one-third of all the topics in the 
curriculum. It is evident that many topics are repeated from year to 
year. The result is a lengthening of the outlines and an increase in 
the amount of work to be done. There is a tendency in courses of 
study to outline more work for rural children than they can do well 
within a year. As the standard of selection is fairly high, the wealth 
of materials of instruction contained in courses is much larger than 
shown in the survey topics. Allowance must be made, of course, for 
counting all topics occurring in the outlines as of equal value, regard- 
less of the character and amount of treatment given to each or the 
amount qI time or study each requires of children. A topic that 
appeared in two grade outlines might be treated at length in one and 
only mentioned in the other. There is doubtless a wide range in the 
amount of careful study that may reasonably be expected of the 
topics appearing in the outlines of a subject. The fact remains that 
the amount of work each year has been increased by repetition of 
topics. Repetition is admittedly a most important factor in learning, 
but using the same topic over and over endangers the learner's live 
interest in the work he is doing. The way out of the difficulty appears 
to be through more intensive study of fewer topics at less frequent 
intervals. 

Another factor revealed by Table 19 is the unequal distribution of 
topics by grades. The number of topics increases up the grades. 
The two upper grades contain twice the number of topics assigned 
to the first two grades. Household arts, usually found in the upper 
grades, has 85 topics, to make the work still more crowded. It is 
possible that, as children's power for study increases and repeated 
topics become better understood, a larger number of topics can be 
studied from year to year. But it appears that there should be a 
more even balance and gradual increase in number of topics than is 
found in State courses. This could be done by decreasing by 5 per 
cent the number of the seventh-grade topics and by increasing the 
number in the fifth grade in the same proportion — the two grades in 
which the increase in number of topics is most irregular. 

The amount of repetition of topics by years is given in Table 20. 
The table shows the grade range of those topics in the survey lists 
which appeared in at least 10 outlines for one or more grades. 



56 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



Table 20. — Number of topics in the survey lists (Chs. VI to X) which appear in 10 or 
more State courses, distributed according to the number of grades in each subject. 





Number of topics in the survey lists. 




Subjects. 


No 
grade. 


One 
grade. 


Two 

grades. 


Three 
grades. 


Four 
grades. 


Five 
grades. 


Six 
grades. 


Seven 
grades. 


Eight 
grades. 


Total. 




17 
27 
5 
21 
16 


17 
32 
3 

19 
81 

18 


10 
24 
3 
11 
38 
35 
12 


10 
20 
3 

11 

23 


10 
16 
3 
1 
6 
4 


8 
5 
4 

7 
7 


4 
9 
3 
5 
5 
3 


1 
2 
2 

i 

2 


13 
15 
5 
8 
13 
2 


90 




150 




31 


Handwriting 


46 
119 




14 


171 




6 
50 

5 
40 
26 
24 
19 
85 

5 
15 
-34 


36 
















50 




23 
23 


26 
14 


26 
9 


33 
8 


22 


10 
2 


1 
7 


10 


146 




113 




26 


Nature study 


10 
19 


17 
98 


10 


14 


7 


10 






92 






_ 


136 
















85 




9 

7 


12 

4 
4 






9 
2 

4 






7 
13 


33 




6 
4 


3 
3 


1 


1 


54 


Music 


56 












Total 


409 

29 


261 
18 


308 
21 


122 
9 


101 

7 


75 
5 


52 
4 


20 
1 


86 
6 


1 434 


Per cent of total... 


100 



Explanation. — The table is to be read as follows: Of 90 topics in the survey list in 
reading, 17 did not appear in 10 courses for any grade, 17 appeared in one grade, 10 
in two grades, etc. Of 150 language topics listed, 27 did not appear in 10 courses for 
any grade, 32 appeared in one grade, etc. 

Almost one-fourth (23 per cent) of the listed topics appear in 10 
or more outlines for four or more grades, and over one-half (53 per 
cent) of them appear in as many outlines for two or more grades. 
At least 10 courses consider 86 topics important enough to place 
them in every grade. Not counting the topics in ungraded subjects 
(Table 19), there are 509 topics listed that do not appear in more than 
one grade. This represents approximately one-third (35 per cent) of 
all topics. If practice warrants a safe conclusion, one-third of the 
work of the elementary school should be done in a satisfactory way 
within the year it is first offered, while the other two-thirds requires 
repetition in two or more grades. 

It is also instructive to know how many new topics are taken up 
each year. This is shown in Table 21. In the second grade, for ex- 
ample, there are 71 topics which did not appear in the first. The 
third grade has 124 new topics. The eighth has 180 topics not ap- 
pearing in any previous grade. 



SELECTION OF CONTEXT MATERIALS. 



57 



Table 21. — Number of new topics l in each subject in the survey lists (Chs. VI to X) 

appearing in each grade. 











dumber of topics 










Subjects. 


Grade 
1. 


Grade 
2. 


Grade 
3. 


Grade Grade 
4. 5. 


Grade 
6. 


Grade 
7. 


Grade 
8. 


Total. 


Reading 


43 
32 
10 
19 
15 
19 


3 
6 
3 

16 
2 


11 
11 

4 
16 
12 

5 


7 
8 
4 

11 
6 


4 
15 

3 

6 
10 

3 


4 

20 

4 

18 
15 


9 
27 
2 
5 
26 
45 
13 


9 

31 

1 

11 
76 
23 


90 


Spelling 

Handwriting 

Arithmetic 


150 
31 
46 
119 
171 
36 












»50 






8 


36 

8 


37 
2 


19 
17 


42 
25 


4 
36 


6 


146 




19 


113 




»26 




57 


21 


5 


9 








92 






116 


20 


136 










»85 




20 
23 

11 






6 
11 
13 


) 


7 
1 
3 


3 


33 




4 

S 


9 
9 


2 

4 


4 

5 


54 
56 


Total 


268 
18 
14 


71 
5 
10 


124 
9 
10 


116 

8 
11 


83 
6 
12 


137 
10 
13 


294 
20 
15 


ISO 
13 
15 


1,434 
89 


Proposed per cent of total. . . 


100 



> A topic is considered new in the first grade in which it is listed. 
J Eleven per cent of the topics are in three ungraded subjects. 

Perhaps the most significant fact revealed by these data is the 
unequal increase of new topics up the grades. The number of new 
topics for the seventh grade is due largely to the introduction of 
agriculture in this grade. But why this grade should have twice as 
many new topics as the sixth and four times as many new topics as 
the second is difficult to explain. The difficult problem for course- 
of-study compilers seems to be that of striking a more even balance 
in the amount of new work each succeeding grade or class may do. 
The writer's proposed distribution of neAv work each year (Table 21) 
includes the ungraded topics. It is assumed in this distribution that 
the scope and difficulty of topics for each year are fairly equal, and 
that the amount of new work children are capable of doing each 
year may be gradually increased. 

There is far greater variation in the number of new topics studied 
each year in any one of several subjects than for all subjects taken 
together. Geography is dominant in the intermediate grades and 
history in upper grades. Nature study is limited to lower grades, 
and agriculture and civics to upper grades. Certain grades are 
selected in which certain subjects are taught exclusively. The rela- 
tively larger number of new language topics in upper grades in all 
probability is due to the lingering influence of formal grammar and 
such additions as recent changes in instruction have brought about. 

To limit the number of grade outlines in any subject, to provide 
more intensive work in fewer years in certain subjects, and to allow 
sufficient repetition to insure efficiency in instruction, are movements 
altogether favorable to one-teacher schools. 
23606—23 5 



58 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

GROUPING OF SUBJECTS AND OF TOPICS. 

The problem of grouping subjects arises out of the growth and 
expansion of the curriculum. In colonial days there were 3 subjects; 
before the national era, 7; some three decades ago, 11; and to-day- 
there are 17, with others knocking at the door for admittance. 6 It 
appears more difficult to eliminate a subject than to permit its 
entrance. Some topics, like thrift, are growing to the proportions of 
a separate subject, but in all probability it is wiser to continue mak- 
ing thrift a part of courses in arithmetic and civics. Some subjects, 
like grammar and physiology, have been materially modified by 
modern practice that they have almost lost their identity as such in 
a few courses. The accumulation of material without adequate 
elimination and readjustment increases the need for further modifi- 
cations, of justified grouping of subjects and topics, and of reselection 
on basis of modern neeeds. 

For the purpose of this survey the subjects have been grouped 
according to the following plan : 

I. English: Reading, language, spelling, handwriting (Ch. VI). 
II. Mathematics: Arithmetic (Ch. VII). 

III. Citizenship: History, civics, manners and morals (Ch. VIII). 

IV. Elementary science: Geography, hygiene, physical education, nature study 

(Ch. IX). 
V. Industry and art: Agriculture, household arts, manual arts, drawing, music 
(Ch. X). 

This grouping is admittedly open to objection. Other groupings 
might have done as well. The larger issues of the survey are not 
disturbed by the grouping as here given. 

As nearly as possible, related subjects were placed in the same 
group. Physical education and hygiene, for example, have a common 
purpose in promoting health. For this reason they were placed in 
the same group, even though physical education has doubtful signifi- 
cance as a science subject. 

CORRELATION OF SUBJECTS AND TOPICS. 

Suggestions for correlation of subjects and topics are given in 
courses of study, but many times these are meaningless to the average 
rural teacher. The only directions teachers are often given are such 
as, correlate geography with history, spelling with reading, or arith- 
metic with agriculture. All too often the process of correlation is 
not made clear or explained with the detail necessary for many 
teachers to comprehend. The lack of proper correlation is brought 
out forcefully in a number of State surveys, as illustrated by the fol- 
lowing quotation: 

6 Cubberley, Public Education in the United States, p. 326. 



SELECTION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 



59 



To cover 20 subjects, each of which is outlined for a full nine-month school year, 
is practically impossible outside of a well-graded school. Agriculture, nature study, 
cooking, sewing, manual training, road making, poultry culture, civics, scientific 
temperance, etc., are all excellent in themselves, but should be correlated with the 
"three R's, " if they are to be taught satisfactorily in a one-teacher school. For 
example, much of the geography and history, especially in the lower grades * * * 
could be given as language just as well as geography or history. 7 

There is some agreement in practice as to the most desirable sub- 
ject for correlation. Barnes states that English is the one study 
with which every other subject in school correlates. 8 All subjects 
have probably more points of contact with language than with any 
other subject. This is indicated in Table 22, which gives the number 
of courses in which the correlation topics appeared. Language easily 
ranks first as the best correlating medium. It is the only subject 
mentioned for correlation with every other subject. In the average 
course, language is given as a correlating subject twice as frequently 
as the subject ranking nearest it in this respect. 

Table 22. — Number of State courses of study recommending correlation of subjects. 





Number of courses in each subject. 


Subjects with which corre- 
lated. 


bo 

I 

3 


o3 

00 

d 

03 


tab 

o 

ft 


. 

bo 

3 

1 
a 

s) 

W 


1 

i 


>> 

o 
to 

a 


o 

s 


■d 

d 

C5 . 

to 

e"g 

So 

SB 

OS 


>> 

■d 

& 

60 
O 

O 
O 


oi 
d 

•a 
m 


■s . 

— d 

g.2 

'53 e? 

d 
0< 


>> 
•d 
d 

CO 

ID 

3 


as 

H 

3 

f 



be 


2 


•* to 

03 

d 


W 


to 

03 

d 
d 

03 


bo 


'to 

d 


Reading 


o!6 
12 


34 
33 
22 

11 
16 
32 
5 
8 
30 
15 

9 

33 

11 
11 
19 
18 

7 


9 
11 

24 
10 


"i4" 


i 

2 


18 
18 


"2* 


14 
10 


5 

10 


1 

9 


5 


6 
13 


4 
13 

3 

3 
13 

6 


4 

6 

2 

.... 

5 


8 
9 
2 
3 
6 
8 


4 
5 


2 




4 


Spelling 








18 


1 
6 
4 
5 
















"2" 

7 


1 




7 






3 

12 
12 
21 

2 

2 
15 

2 


2 

7 

1 

"7" 

"i 

4 


.... 


2 


5 
1 


7 








20 
8 
9 

19 


8 
8 
2 
8 
18 
5 


1 


Civics 




' 




1 

13 






Manners and morals , 


























2 


.... 


9 




13 
6 

"12* 
4 

"4" 

8 
1 


11 
5 
2 
3 

11 
2 
2 
9 


6 

8 


10 


17 




Hygiene 




4 

26 

3 

1 
9 

"3' 


"7" 

"5* 

3 
5 




Physical education 










21 






5 










3 

6 


9 
9 
14 
2 
1 


10 
3 
11 
14 
21 
1 


8 
1 
3 
7 
20 






5 






20 


















Manual arts 








11 








1 
2 






5 






5 






1 








1 




2 


9- 


























Average of 35 courses. . . 
Rank 


5.0 

4 


13.1 
1 


2.9 
14 


1.8 
16 


3.2 
11 


6.5 
2 


2.4 
15 


3.9 
9 


5.1 
3 


3.5 
10 


3.1 
12 


4.2 

7 


4.5 
5 


3.0 
13 


4.5 
6 


4.2 
8 


1.2 

17 







o Figures showing correlation of a subject with itself are for the topic "correlated subject ." The subjects 
in particular with which correlated were not named. 

Explanation. — The table is to be read thus: 

In 12 courses in reading the topic "correlate with language" appeared; in 7 courses 
in reading the topic "correlate with arithmetic" appeared, etc. 

Correlation with subjects other than language is mentioned more 
infrequently. Arithmetic, reading, history, agriculture, and manual 
arts are suggested for correlation with almost eVery other subject. 



» U. S. Bu. of Educ, Bid. No. 5, 1917, p. 71. The Colorado School System. 
8 Barnes, English in the Country Schools, p. 20. 



60 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

Agriculture takes fifth place among the subjects recommended for 
correlation, although Betts and Hall make it the new center of cor- 
relation in the rural school curriculum. 9 

Aside from the relative importance attached to subjects as medi- 
ums of correlation the most significant feature in Table 22 is probably 
the simple fact that correlation is a topic that appears repeatedly in 
the outlines of subjects. The topic appears 71 times in the average 
State course of study (average of 35 courses used), or more than 4 
times in the average State course for each subject. 

A topic given in the outlines of one subject for careful study is 
sometimes given in the outlines of another subject for the same 
purpose. For correlation purposes this has an appeal, but as assigned 
topics for study this appears to be an unnecessary duplication in 
many cases. There are 124 survey topics listed in two subjects and 
48 others in more than two. This represents one-seventh (14.4 per 
cent) of the 1,192 topics listed. The overlapping is much larger than 
here shown because of the high standard of selection by which a 
topic was admitted to the survey lists. Allowance must be made 
for the fact that some topics have wide application, and different 
phases of them may well be studied in different subjects. Such a 
topic is clothing, which appears in the history, geography, and hygiene 
lists. 

The problem of adquate correlation can not be left to the average 
rural teacher. Those who would provide outlines in 10 to 17 subjects 
without detailed directions as to the parts that may be taught to- 
gether and in what ways have not adequately conceived the problem 
in one-teacher schools. Correlation is also needed quite as much for 
children in village and town schools to protect them from too many 
classes and topics or problems each day. Both teachers and pupils 
need guidance in the handling of the vast body of useful knowledge, 
and for the unsupervised rural schools this can probably be furnished 
best by an effectively organized and fully correlated course of study. 

A PROGRAM OF CORRELATION. 

The number of outlines for children of any one grade or class to 
pursue should be reduced in courses of study to the limitations of the 
average teacher's program of classes. The organization of content 
in the course of study should meet the teacher's needs. If the fifth 
and sixth grade children in one-teacher schools, for example, are to 
be in one class and pursue the same studies, then it follows that 
there should be just as many, but no more, class outlines provided 
for them in the course of study as there are regular class periods 
for them on their two-year program, alternated by years. Moreover, 
the two outlines provided for the two-year period for a class, as the 

• Betts and Hall, Better Rural Schools, p. 64 



SELECTION OF CONTEXT MATERIALS. 61 

fifth and sixth grades combined, should be evenly balanced in diffi- 
culty, if the course is to be used in schools following the plan of alter- 
nation. A course of study so organized would effectively aid the 
average country teacher, whose general inability to organize from 
many outlines is well known. 

In some courses issued recently (Minnesota, Montana) there is a 
noticeable tendency to organize courses around coordinating centers 
and to limit rather than to increase the number of outlines provided. 
A few courses have included civics with history outlines. Courses 
in industrial arts, including handwork, manual arts, household arts, 
and drawing, have appeared. Nature study and agriculture have 
frequently been combined. The Government bulletins on correla- 
tion of agriculture with the public-school subjects are doubtless well 
known. 10 The question is a matter of choosing the subjects to be 
regularly taught, for which outlines are to be provided, and of cor- 
relating and combining other subjects with them in such a way as to 
insure appropriate instruction in the schools. 

An index to the solution of this problem may be found in the pro- 
portional length of outlines State courses give to each subject in 
each grade. The facts were presented in Table 12, Chapter IV. 

In those subjects for each grade in which the per cent of average 
space for grade outlines is relatively small, grade outlines might be 
omitted and the work in such subjects correlated or made a part of 
the outlines of other subjects. On basis of these percentages of 
space relations, and in harmony with the schedule for class periods 
given in the Table 7 (Ch. Ill), the following program for correlated 
outlines has been arranged (Table 23). 

The program here presented is intended primarily for one-teacher 
schools. It provides for the same number of outlines as there are 
grades or classes in the several subjects in school. It is in one-teacher 
schools where help through the course of study is needed most. It 
should be easy for teachers in consolidated and village schools to 
adapt such outlines to their own needs. There may be occasionally 
a rural teacher who does not require all the help here contemplated. 
It was possible for the "Brown Mouse" to correlate every subject 
about agriculture and community life successfully without the aid of 
a course of study. 11 A large factor in Mrs. Harvey's success was, in all 
probability, her skill in correlating effectively all her teaching about 
two large related centers of interest. 12 The best results obtain when 
divisions of work into subjects are largely lost sight of in the correla- 
tion of better teaching. But the average rural teacher needs all the 

i»U. S. Dept. of Agric, Bui. Nos. 281 and 132,' 191S. Correlating Agriculture with the Public School 
Subjects. 

11 Quick, The Brown Mouse, p. 159. 

» Dewey, New Schools for Old, pp. 246, 329. 



62 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



help in organizing and correlating work a course of study can give. 
With such help, better teaching may well be expected, even of 
untrained and largely unsupervised rural teachers. 

Table 23.— J. proposed program of organization for correlated outlines. 



Outlines provided. 


Correlated subjects. 


Grades. 


Subjects. 




1 to 8 




Spelling, phonics, word study — Grades 1 and 2. Literature — 


1 to 8 


Language 


Grades 5 to 6. 
History, civics — Grades 1 to 4; hygiene 1 to 5. Picture study, 


A,B,C 


Spelling 


composition, handwriting. Grammar— Grades 7 and 8. 
Word study. Three outlines for three classes. 


1 to 8 




Thrift, seat work, industrial arts. 


5to8 


History 


Civics, manners, morals. 


4 to 7 


Geography 


The industries, social and community life. 


6 and 7 


Hygiene 


Physiology, sanitation, physical education. 


1 to4 




Home geography — Grades 1 to 3. Industrial arts, construction 


5to8 


work, home making. 






lunch. 


Outlines for the 




Upper-grade children excused when standards are reached and 

maintained. 
Correlated with other subjects, particularly with geography, 

arithmetic, and agriculture. 
As community singing and with phonograph records. In 


school as a 
whole. 


Music 




Physical education. . 


opening exercises frequently. 
As organized play at play periods. 



Seat work correlated with each subject as a definite and organized part of each 
outline. 

Manners and morals correlated with all activities in both work and play. 

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1. The State courses in each of 17 subjects were analyzed in detail 
for their aims, methods, topics, and related content materials. Not 
more than 35 courses for any one subject were used, which made it 
possible to select the best courses available. 

2. Of 3,504 topics appearing in State courses in the outlines for 
all subjects, 1,192 were found to occur in 40 per cent or more of the 
35 selected courses or fewer courses in any one subject. These 
topics appear in the survey lists of each subject (Chs. VI to X). 
For the purpose of this survey a "selected" topic is one contained 
in the list of topics appearing in 40 per cent or more of the courses 
and an "eliminated" topic is one that appears less frequently. A 
topic was not admitted to the list, however, unless it appeared in at 
least 10 courses. Supplementing the survey lists are suggestive 
topics appearing in fewer than 40 per cent of the courses. 



SELECTION OF CONTENT MATERIALS. 63 

3. An examination of the survey lists reveals the great variety of 
topics and the abundance of teaching materials. Topics pertaining 
to aims, methods, and subject matter are included. There is clearly 
a need for the discontinuance of topics that do not answer to the 
needs of farm children and for the reselection and proper evaluation 
of materials in the light of social and economic progress. 

4. Eighty-five per cent of the listed topics appear in the list of one 
subject only; 10 per cent in the lists of two subjects; and 5 per cent 
in the lists of more than two subjects. It seems desirable that all 
topics should have a "subject home" and be assigned to only one 
subject for intensive study. 

5. About one-third (35 per cent) of the school work is completed 
in the year it is first offered, while two-thirds is repeated in two or 
more years (Tables 19 and 20). Each year pupils are assigned from 
one-fifth to one-third of all the topics in the curriculum. A crowded 
curriculum presents the need for a reduction of this large amount of 
repetition of topics by grades. Allowing 8 years of 9 months each, 
it would require 7.2 hours of school time for the study of each of the 
1,192 topics listed. 

6. No grade is worked harder than the seventh, if it may be as- 
sumed that topics on the whole are fairly equal in scope and in diffi- 
culty. This is, however, not a safe assumption, since a few topics, 
such as thrift, have almost come to be subjects in themselves. By 
decreasing the number of topics in the seventh grade by 5 per cent, 
and by increasing the number of fifth-grade topics in the same pro- 
portion, the yearly increase in the number of topics up the grades 
would be nearly the same (Table 19). 

7. A few coordinating centers, rather than several, are needed for 
the effective operation of the plan of alternation and combination. 
The tendency is to reduce the number. For the purpose of this sur- 
vey, five have been chosen — English, arithmetic, citizenship, elemen- 
tary science, industry and art. 

8. Correlation of subjects and correlation of topics within subjects 
are effective means of organizing content materials for economy of 
time. English, particularly language, is the best correlating medium. 

9. To assist the rural teacher in properly correlating her work, the 
same number of outlines in the course of study should be provided 
as the number of grades or classes in the several subjects in school. 

10. The following principles for guidance are suggested: 

(a) Subjects that may be easily and effectively coordinated with other subjects 
not to appear on the program for regular class instruction. 

(b) The leading aims in each subject and in each grade in each subject set out 
from the main body of the outlines as important considerations. 

(c) Scientific investigations and psychological studies utilized in the selection of 
the best methods of instruction recommended in the course of study. 



64 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

(d) The number of topics repeated for intensive study in various grades reduced 
to a minimum. 

(e) Each topic assigned for intensive study to that subject with which it is most 
closely related, and to that subject only. 

(/) Topics selected of greatest value to children on farms and in rural-minded vil- 
lages and towns. Social and economic needs not underestimated in this selection. 

(g) Teaching materials distributed to the several grades according to the level of 
ability of children using them and in such a way as to preserve an even balance of 
work from year to year. Aim of this distribution also to make the plan of alternation 
and combination of grades and of subjects easily possible in one-teacher schools. 

(h) Topics effectively correlated about centers of interest to children. Success iD 
school work secured in part through the correlation of better teaching. 



Chapter VI. 
ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ENGLISH COURSES. 



The survey includes reading, language, spelling, and handwriting 
in the English group. These are " tools " which children need to 
know how to use in connection with all subjects they- study. 

English is allotted 26.9 per cent of the space assigned to all sub- 
jects (Table 10) and 52.1 per cent of total recitation time on 26 pro- 
grams (Table 6). 

Of all the space in State courses allotted to English, more than 
one-fourth (27.9 per cent) is assigned to ungraded outlines or general 
suggestions. Distribution of space assignment to graded outlines is 
fairly even for each subject of the group, except reading (Table 13). 

There are 317 English topics in the survey lists, which number 
represents 22 per cent of all listed topics. Language has many top- 
ics due to the influence of grammar in upper grades. Handwriting 
and spelling contain relatively few topics. 

A very large number of the English topics listed pertain to meth- 
ods of teaching, except on the formal side of language. The value 
of psychology as applied to the teaching of English subjects is given 
some attention. 

It appears that more attention should be given to improvement 
through the habit of watching for errors in reading, talking, spelling, 
and writing. These matters are given fair consideration in only a 
few courses. 

READING. 

In 13 courses reading is regarded as the most important "tool" 
subject. More recitation time is allotted to it than to any other 
subject. One-fourth of the total number of pages devoted to read- 
ing is given to the first grade, where it is undoubtedly most needed. 

Reading aims appearing in State courses are commendable for 
their emphasis on reading for information and for appreciation. 
Specific aims resulting from scientific investigations are only recently 
finding their way into the courses. The aims^friost frequently men- 
tioned are: 

Intelligent interpretation of the printed page with reasonable accuracy and 

rapidity. 
Ability to read (for others) in pleasing, natural, forceful, expressive ways. 
Appreciation of and love for good literature. 

fi5 



66 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



Clean, healthy, profitable, enjoyable employment. 
Creation of a compelling desire to read the best well. 
Develop the power to picture vividly. 
For ethical culture and moral development. 
Develop the power of discriminative reading. 

Ninety reading topics appear in more than 40 per cent of the 35 
courses examined. Of these, 75 per cent are method topics. Topics 
appearing in fewer than 14 courses are very similar in type to topics 
appearing in more courses. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL READING. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



*Stories, story telling. 
*Phonics, phonograms. 

Supplementary reading. 
* Pronunciation . 
*Sounds, sound combina- 
tions. 

Blackboard lessons. 

Silent reading. 

Drill lessons. 

Sight reading. 

Natural expression. 



Thought getting. 
* Beautiful passages. 

Memorization. 

Use of dictionary. 

Clear enunciation. 
*Classics, literature. 
^Mechanics of reading. 

Correct articulation. 
*Poetry, poems. 

Use of library books. 



Oral reading. 

Dramatization. 
*Picture study. 

Emphasis, inflection. 

Voice training. 

Talking lessons, conversa- 
tions. 

Word method. 
*Action words. 

Sentence method. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



^Biographies of authors. 
*Word study, mastery. 

New, difficult words. 

Defining words, defini- 
tions. 

Word building. 

Thought giving. 
*History stories. 
*Masterpieces, extracts of. 

Word analysis. 



*Prose selection. 
Basal readers. 
Development of imagina- 
tion. 
Sentence building. 
Diacritical markings. 
' Agreeable tones. 
Intensive reading (thor- 
oughness). 



*Memory gems. 

Families of words. 

Plays and games. 

Eye training, forms. 
^Newspapers, magazines. 

Word groups, phrasing. 

Extensive reading 
(sweep). 

Rhythm, smoothness. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Sentence pictures. 

Spelling exercises. 

Illustrated lessons. 

Sight words. 

Ear training (sounds). 

Review lessons. 

Phonic m ethod . ^ 

*Names of letters (alpha- 
bet). 
*Nature study stories. 

Reading to class audience. 
^Geographical stories. 

Related sentences. 
♦Topics marked with a star (*) 



Information reading. 
Home reading. 
Dramatic reading. 
Setting, plot, scene. 
Rhetorical pauses. 
Key words. 
Self-helpfulness. 
Book reports. 
Rapidity in reading. 
Meaning of context. 
Correlated subjects. 
Descriptive literature. 
Reproducing stories, 
pertain largely to subject matter. 



judg- 



*Mother Goose rhymes 

Combination method. 

Use of imitation. 
*National songs. 

How to study. 

Development of 
ment. 
*Character study. 

Copying exercises. 

Drawing, drawings. 

Correct posture, position. 

Reading habits. 

Pitch of voice (control). 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ENGLISH COURSES. 67 

The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses: 

Subject-matter topics. — American classics, ballads, dialogues, dramas, essays, fairy- 
tales, folk lore, narrative literature, mytbs and legends, poetry, lyrics, plot study, 
rhymes, national songs, travel sketches. 

Form. — Abbreviations, accent, bow to. use indexes, synonyms, word pictures, 
Trord recognition. 

Allusions, expressive terms, outlining, thought grouping, thought analysis, read- 
ing by paragraphs. 

Formal methods of learning to read are mentioned more frequently 
than natural methods. The great variety of methods mentioned 
makes evident the need for improved standards in teaching reading. 

Only slightly more attention is given to silent than to oral reading. 
Silent reading is ; however, much more important in the four upper 
grades at least. Standards in rate of silent reading and in amount 
of comprehension are nowhere in evidence, except in a few courses 
published recently. 

Reading is inseparably related to other subjects. Thirty-four 
reading topics are found in the lists of other subjects. This lends 
indorsement to a recent conception that reading is for breadth and 
fullness of experience. 

LANGUAGE. 

As a correlating median, language easily ranks first. It takes 
second rank among 17 school subjects in the amount of space devoted 
to its outlines (Table 10). 

Grade outlines are of fairly equal length. Training in the correct 
use of language is quite as important for one grade as for another. 

State courses would have American children study language for the 
purpose of using it fluently, correctly, intelligently, and forcefully in 
speaking and writing, and with simplicity, expression, and enjoyment. 
They would have children — 

Use the English language correctly. 
Speak and write English fluently . 
Express known ideas in simple English. 
Use clear, forceful, expressive language. 
Use the English language intelligently . 
Judge values and grasp main points. 
Organize and outline subject matter. 
Appreciate and love the beautiful in literature. 

Practically all listed language topics represent some phrase of com- 
position, grammar, letter writing, picture study, correction of errors, 
story telling, poetry, or memorization. Some language topics, such 
as the last three just named, are also prominent in reading. Proper 
correlation with a minimum number of topics which are listed for 
intensive study in two or more subjects makes for economy of time. 



68 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LANGUAGE. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



Stories, story telling. 

Poems, poetry. 

Compositions . 

Memorization. 
•{"Correction of errors. 

Letter writing. 
fGrammar. 
fPunctuation. 
JCorrelated reading. 

Paragraphing. 
fNouns. 

tSentence analysis. 
JCorrelated nature study. 
JTalking lessons. 
JCorrelated subjects. 

Picture study. 



•[•Capitalization. 
JCorrelated history. 

Topical outlines, 
t Verbs. 
fAdjectives. 
fPronouns. 
JCorrelated literature. 
JCopying exercises. 

Descriptions, description. 
•("Using words in sentences. 

Social letters. 
fSentence, the. 
f Parts of speech. 

Reproductions. 
♦Quotation marks. 
JCorrelated geography. 



tPhrases. 

Word study, mastery. 
JDictation exercises. 
fSubject, predicate. 
fAdverbs. 

♦Sentences, as to use. 
JNatural expression. 

Sentence building. 
fPre positions. 
fModifiers. 
fCorrect usage. 
JLanguage games. 
fClauses. 
•{•Conjunctions. 
fComparsion. 
fSentence structure. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 



PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



f Periods, use of. 

Enlarging vocabulary. 

Narration. 
tTransitive verbs. 

Dramatization . 
♦Abbreviations, contrac- 
tions. 
■{"Personal pronouns. 

Definitions. 
fLinking, copulative verbs. 
fVoice. 
*Mode. 
tNumber. 

Correct forms. 

Business letters. 
♦Sentences as to form. 
•{■Relative pronouns. 
•{•Rules of syntax. 



-{"Direct object, indirect. 

JSelf criticism. 

fTense of verbs. 

♦Infinitives. 

♦Irregular verbs. 

f Possessive, apostrophe. 

Current events. 
JCorrelated industrial 
work. 

Personal experiences. 

Biographical stories. 
■("Participles. 
♦Conjugation. 
•{•Parsing. 
fCase. 

♦Interjections. 
♦Predicate noun or ad- 
jective. 



J^Correlated spelling, 
f Comma, use of. 

Clearness, emphasis. 
•{"Intransitive verbs. 
■(-Gender. 
fCorrect use of pronouns. 

Farm life stories. 
♦Interrogation point. 
JListing words, 
f Plural formation, 
f Mechanics of the language. 
JClass criticisms. 
JReview lessons. 
♦Gerund. 

Character study. 
♦Appositive modifier. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



Tables. 


Christmas. 


fModifying clauses. 


Exposition, essay. 


Birds, bird life. 


♦Verb phrases. 


Synonyms. 


JCorrelated manual arts. 


flnflection, modifications. 


f Number form . 


JCorrective exercises. 


Animal tales. 


Humorous stories. 


JChoosing words well. 


JObservation lessons. 


JSeasonal topics. 


♦Descriptive adjectives. 


JCorrelated drawings. 



* Topics marked with a star (*) pertain to the mechanics of the language. 

t Topics marked with a dagger (t) pertain to the mechanics of the language and are contained in. 
Doctor Charter's curriculum based on Grammatical Errors; in Sixteenth Yearbook of the National Soci- 
ety for the Study of Education, Part I, pp. 104-110. 

J Topics marked with a double dagger (J) pertain to methods of teaching. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ENGLISH COURSES. 



69 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES — continued. 



^Blackboard lessons. 

Prose selections, 
-flnterrogative pronouns. 
{Orderly arrangement. 
{Auxiliary verbs. 

Argumentation. 
"^Connectives. 
{Principal parts of verbs. 
-[Classes of nouns. 

Complete sentences. 
-"Limiting adjectives. 
^Regular verbs. 

Thanksgiving Day. 



Myths, legends. 

Use of dictionary. 
{Accuracy. 
{Neatness. 

Sentence complements. 
{Correlated arithmetic. 
*Person. 
{Reading to class audience. 

Invitations, replies. 
{Correlated hygiene. 
*Diagraming. 
{Verbs, person and num- 
ber. 



{Agreement, verb with 

subject. 
{Object lesson. 

Occupations, industries. 

Washington's Birthday. 

Pronunciation. 

Imaginary stories. 
{Expanding stories. 
{Correct use of adjectives. 
*Posse6sive pronouns. 
{Possessive modifiers. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses: 

Acceptances, regrets; correct use of adverbs and of prepositions; emphasis, force; 
how to study; home and school life; legends; use of library books; judging values; 
listening and action lessons; maxims and proverbs; memory gems; newspapers and 
magazines; quotations; rhymes; songs; telegrams and messages. 

Stories — Geographical, history, holiday, other land, soil and seed, tree and forest, 
weather, Indian. 

One-half (75) of the topics pertain to the mechanics of language, 
54 of which are included in Doctor Charter's curriculum on gram- 
matical errors. Within the field there are many conflicting views as 
to what should be eliminated from teaching and how that which 
remains should be taught. There appears to be a need for more exten- 
sive elimination of grammar materials from courses of study. Pro- 
gressive courses indicate that the functional side of grammar should 
be stressed. Language forms should be carefully selected and become 
an important part of the course of study. 

One-fifth of the topics refer to methods of instruction. This indi- 
cates the measure of attention that courses would give to the way 
children are taught, the things they do, and the habits they form. 

Quite a large number of topics appear in several grades. This may 
be, in a measure, excusable from the standpoint of methods. There 
are literature topics, such as poetry and shorter selections for story 
telling, that are even more common in language than in reading out- 
lines. There seems to be little, need of duplicating such topics by 
subjects, unless the phases of work for each subject are clearly 
differentiated. 

Among the topics appearing in fewer than 14 courses are a number 
closely related to other subjects, such as gardening and songs, but 
the topics pertaining to the mechanics of the language predominate. 

* Topics marked with a star (*) pertain to the mechanics of the language. 

t Topics marked with a dagger (f) pertain to the mechanics of the language and are contained In 
Doctor Charter's curriculum based on Grammatical Errors; in Sixteenth Yearbook of the National 
Society for the Study of Education, Part I, pp. 104-110. 

% Topics marked with a double dagger (t) pertain to methods of teaching. 



70 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOL. 



Practice would not introduce pupils to the use of language text- 
books before the fourth grade. Supervision of textbook instruction 
through language courses of study has had little attention. 

Usually the study of reproductions of great paintings is included 
with language, but picture study is an important topic in several 
other subjects. Nearly 400 titles of art pictures are given in courses. 

TITLES OF 29 REPRODUCTIONS OF FAMOUS PAINTINGS APPEARING 
IN 10 OR MORE OF 44 STATE COURSES OF STUDY. 

Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in the Courses. 



FIRST AND SECOND YEARS. 



Millet 


, Feeding Her Birds. 


Raphael . . 


. Sistine Madonna. 


Bouveret. . 


. At the Watering Trough. 


Raphael . . 


.Madonna of the Chair. 


Landseer . . 


.Members of the Humane 




Society. 


Millet 


The First Steps. 


Van Dyke 


.Baby Stuart. 


Correggio . 


.Holy Night. 


Landseer . 


.Saved. 


Le Rolle. . 


..The Arrival of the Shep- 




herds. 


Holmes. .. 


Can't You Talk? 


FIFTH AND SIXTH YEARS. 


Millet 


The Gleaners. 


Bonheur.. 


.The Horse Fair. 


Watts 


Sir Galahad. 




Song of the Lark. 



THIRD AND FOURTH YEARS. 

Millet Shepherdess Knitting. 

Boughton . . . Pilgrims Going to Church . 

Troyon Return to the Farm. 

Millet The Sower. 

Landseer . . .Shoeing the Bay Mare. 

Millet The Angelus. 

Bonheur Oxen Plowing. 

Hoffmann . .Christ and the Doctors. 
Boughton. . .Pilgrim Exiles. 

Le Rolle The Shepherdess. 

Reynolds. . . Age of Innocence. 
Renouf The Helping Hand. 



SEVENTH AND EIGHTH YEARS. 

Reni .The Aurora. 

Corot Dance of the Nymphs. 



SPELLING. 

The average spelling course in 44 State courses of study contains 
4.5 pages. Twenty-nine per cent of the space given to spelling is 
devoted to suggestions of a general nature (Tabla 13). The upper 
grades have the shortest grade outlines. 

The following aims for teaching spelling, appearing most frequently 
in the courses, emphasize spelling efficiency: 

Giving pupils the ability to spell correctly the words used in their own 

writing vocabulary. 
Causing pupils to form the habit of pronouncing correctly the words in their 

own reading and speaking vocabulary. 
Giving pupils the ability to use words in meaningful sentences and to use the 

dictionary intelligently. 
Giving the pupils the power to master the spelling and pronunciation of new 

words easily when needed. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ENGLISH COURSES. 71 

Little attention ha3 been given to establishing habits of watching 
the spelling used in all written work. 

Many courses fail to give definite and helpful suggestions on the 
best methods of teaching spelling. The value of psychology in teach- 
ing has been given slight attention. How to master new words, 
what words to study, number of words to a lesson, how to use the 
book, use of rules in spelling, and time to spend on study are matters 
of importance for careful consideration in courses of study. Courses 
weak in methods may be partly responsible for poor teaching observed 
in many schools, as indicated by survey reports. 

There are fewer topics in spelling than in other subjects. Most of 
the topics appear in a majority of the courses and in one-half or more 
of the grades. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SPELLING. 

Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Coupes of Study. 

APPEARING IN MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Written spelling. 
Words from all lessons. 
Oral spelling. 
Drills, reviews. 
Pronunciation. 



Misspelled words. 
Phonograms, phonic elements. 
Words from spelling books. 
Use of dictionary. 
Articulation, enunciation. 



Word analysis. 
New, difficult words. 
Words in common use. 
Definitions, defining words. 



APPEARING IN CO TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 

Dictation exercises. 



Diacritical markings. 
Derivation of words. 
Rules of spelling. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Prefixes, suffixes. 

Synonyms. 

Homonyms. 

Root words. 

Topical lists of words. 

Copying exercises. 

Correct forms. 



Word building, synthesis. 
Short sentences, phrases. 
Antonyms, opposites. 
Spelling match. 
Use of eye, ear, voice, muscle. 
Abbreviations, contractions. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses: 

Word study, use of words in sentences, orthographic difficulties, word families, 
history of English language, words mispronounced, memory verses, punctuation and 
capitalization, sentence building, technical terms. 

Many courses suggest the selection of some words outside of the 
textbooks. But lists of words scientifically determined, such as the 
Ayres' scale or Jones' lists, are referred to infrequently. The average 
rural course needs to give more specific and repeated directions on the 
proper evaluation of spelling words. 



72 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOE RURAL SCHOOLS. 



HANDWRITING 

There are only 4.7 pages in the average handwriting course. Of 
the 44 State courses, 12 provide no graded outlines. Nearly one-half 
(47 per cent) of the space allotted to handwriting is assigned to gen- 
eral suggestions (Table 13). The courses containing outlines give 
the major portion of grade space to the outlines for lower grades. 
For one-teacher schools graded outlines are not very helpful. Graded 
standards of achievement, and suggestions regarding the best methods 
by which they may be obtained, have both meaning and value. 

Courses of study would have children taught to write legible, uni- 
form, and beautiful handwriting, with pleasure, ease, and rapidity. 
This is evident from the following frequently mentioned aims: 

Habits of writing legibly, rapidly, and easily formed. 
Habits of writing with neatness and simplicity formed. 
Habits of correct writing formed. 
Acquire ability to control handwriting movements. 
Appreciation of grace and beauty in handwriting. 

Practically all of the handwriting topics deal with problems of 
method. Many suggestions for their solution are given. There are 
only a few listed topics that have not received attention in scientific 
investigations. More careful attention should be given to psychology 
of the learning process and standards in handwriting practice now 
available. 

Progressive topics, such as handwriting tests, descriptive counts, 
endurance tests, and self-criticism are making their appearance in 
courses. 



TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HANDWRITING. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



*Position of body. 
*Muscular (forearm movement). 
*Position of hand and fingers. 
Mastery of movements. 
*Position of arms. 
*Speed in writing. 
*Legibility. 



^'Movement drills. 
*Ease in execution. 
*Letter formation. 
*Practice writing. 
*Correct forms. 

Comparing specimen pages. 

Blackboard writing. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO SO PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



*Drill exercises. 

Push and pull ovals. 
*Sentence writing. 
*Word writing. 

Use of copy books. 



Supervised writing. 
*Position of paper. 
*Counting in writing. 

Copy books after practice. 



* Topics or problems marked with a star (*) are treated in " Principles on method " by Doctor Free- 
man in the Eighteenth Yearbook, Part II, pp. 11-23. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ENGLISH COURSES. 73 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



Neatness in writing. 

Copying exercises. 

Writing habits. 
*Uniformity in slant. 
*Uniformity in speed. 

Correlated subjects. 

Social correspondence. 

Individual instruction. 

Whole arm movement. 

Business correspondence. 
*Accuracy, exact form. 
*Uniformity in spacing. 



*Group letter drills. 

Writing figures. 
*Style of slant. 
*Uniformity of form. 
■"Uniformity in letter height. 

Air and dry pen writing. 

Dictation exercises.. 

Mental pictures of forms. 

Use and care of materials. 

Writing compositions. 
^Uniformity in alignment. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses : 

Orderly arrangement, blackboard copies, crayon holding, developing exercises, 
drill words, descriptive counts, handwriting tests, reduction of letter size, self-criti- 
cisms, endurance tests, tracing copy. 

Movements. — Finger, combined, lateral, reverse rotary. 

Writing exhibits, principles of writing, stanza writing, straight line writing. 

There are numerous minor problems that have not received ade- 
quate solution in many handwriting courses. Some of these are: The 
length of the practice period, use of the copy books and of pen and 
ink, and handwriting materials needed. In these matters the aver- 
age rural teacher needs careful guidance. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following principles for the improvement of courses in English 
subjects for rural schools are suggested: 

(a) The leading aims in each subject and in each grade specified. 
(6) The best methods of teaching each subject emphasized. 

(c) Silent reading emphasized, particularly in upper grades. 

(d) Selection of that content which represents the best in literature. 

(e) Vitalization of all work in English with functional material. 
(/) Reasonable standards of achievement set forth. 

(g) Organization of material with a maximum economy of time. 

(h) Outlines provided in reading and in language for each grade from one to eight. 

(i) Outlines provided for three classes in spelling, organized without regard to 

grade lines. 
( j) A general ungraded outline in handwriting provided, but so graduated as to 

indicate very definitely the stages of progress. 
(k) Motivation of all specifications with definite suggestions. 
(I) Helping teachers in the selection of words most frequently used in writing and 

in the most economical methods of learning them, 
(m) Encouraging the testing of words in spelling before teaching them, 
(n) Encouraging the intelligent use of the outlines provided. 

♦Topics or problems marked with a (*) are treated in " Principles on method" by Doctor Freeman 
In the Eighteenth Yearbook, Part II, pp. 11-23. 

23606—23 6 



Chapter VII. 
ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ARITHMETIC COURSES. 



Of all subjects, arithmetic holds the most prominent -place in courses 
of study. The average length of outlines exceeds that of every other 
subject. More recitation time on model programs is given to arith- 
metic than to any other subject, save reading. Arithmetic is a favor- 
able subject for reducing both the amount of time and the amount 
of space given to it (Tables 6 and 10). 

The grade distribution of space allotment to the eight grades is 
fairly even, the outlines for grades two and three being only slightly 
longer than the outlines for other grades (Table 13). 

The following aims for teaching arithmetic appear most frequently 
in the courses. The functional value of the aims is large. In many 
courses they are not set out prominently from the outlines as objects 
of great importance. These leading aims might well be made a vital 
part of the course of study: 

Ability to solve the everyday problems of life. 
Acquired habits of accuracy in computation. 
Established habits of clear number thinking. 
Acquired facility (speed) in computation. 
Mastery of the fundamental operations. 
Ability to apply knowledge in a variety of ways. 

The most valuable points on methods of teaching mentioned in 
State courses are, perhaps, those regarding steps in solving problems. 
The following represents the general plan in several courses : 

Given What do I know ? 

Required What am I to find ? 

Plan How am I to solve the problems ? 

Estimation What is a reasonable result ? 

Solution The process of solving the problem. 

Checking Is my answer correct ? 

Eighteen courses suggest first use of the textbook in the third grade. 
There is a lack of attention to the intelligent and effective use of text- 
books and to the utilization of problems other than those in the text. 
The average rural teacher is likely to make a slavish use of the text 
without the constant intelligent guidance which courses of study 
ought to provide. 
74 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ARITHMETIC COURSES. 



75 



Fifty-three per cent of the topics listed have to do with the me- 
chanics of arithmetic, while 23 per cent of them have to do with prac- 
tical problems in application. Among the topics appearing in fewer 
than 14 courses this proportion is reversed. The fundamental proc- 
esses are emphasized in lower grades. In upper grades there is 
more concrete problem solving. 



TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ARITHMETIC. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



*t Addition. 
*fSubtraction. 
*t Multiplication . 
*f Division. 
*fSimple fractions. 
Review lessons. 
Rapidity, speed. 
■(•Counting. 
Drill lessons. 
Accuracy. 
{Practical problems. 
*fDecimals. 
*fPercentage, per cent. 
{Measuring, measure- 
ments. 
tSurface measure. 
*{Bills and accounts. 
Object lessons. 
{Concrete problems. 
fDry measure. 



f Lin ear measure. 
*fSimple interest. 
*|Taxes, levies. 

'(■Roman numerals. 
*fDenominate numbers. 

fFundamental opera- 
tions. 
*{Insurance. 
*fBusiness forms. 

t Addition tables. 
*fUnited States money. 

■("Liquid measure. 

fReduction of fractions. 

•("Analysis of problems. 
*{Profit, loss. 
Commercial discount. 

■("Promissory notes. 
*t Multiplication tables. 

f Avoirdupois weight. 

fFractional parts. 



{Business practice. 

t Arithmetic signs. 
Oral problems. 
Definitions, defining 
terms. 

tLong division. 

fTime measure. 

*Com mission. 

fTime telling. 

•("Drawing to scale. 

{Carpet problems. 
*f Mensuration. 

tSquare root. 

■(•Abstract problems. 

-(•Carrying, borrowing. 

f Cubic measure. 
*f Ratio, proportion. 

•(•Factors, factoring. 

{Applications. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



tShort division . 
*fNotation, numeration. 

fReduction of decimals. 

f Cancellation. 

fAliquot parts. 
Illustrative problems. 

'(•Fractional equivalents. 
Plays, games. 
*fLeast common multiple. 

fDecimal equivalents. 



{Farm, farm crop prob- 
lems. 
Rules and principles, 
f Receipts. 

{Painting, plastering. 
*J Banking practice. 
{Papering, calcimining. 
■("Capacity, volume. 
fMixed numbers, 
f Board (lumber) measure. 
fDrafts. 



*Stocks, bonds. 

Grouping numbers, 
f Subtraction tables. 
■(•Checking solutions. 
fReduction of denominate 
numbers. 

Orderly arrangements, 
f Pointing off. 
^Partial payments. 
{Applied arithmetic. 
{Buying,selling problems. 



♦Topics marked with a star (*; are listed in Wilson's study of 39 courses, " Motivation of School Work," 
p. 180. 

t Topics marked with a dagger (t) bear on the mechanics of arithmetic: Forms, facts, tables, funda- 
mental processes. 

J Topics marked with a double dagger (t) refer to the practical applications of arithmetic. 



76 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



^Savings accounts. 
■(■Circular measure. 
*tLongitude, time. 
JLabor problems. 
tMetric system. 

Paper cutting, folding. 
JStore problems. 

One-step problems. 
|Original problems. 

Neatness. 
JHome, garden problems. 
*|Number relations. 



^Industrial problems. 

Estimating sizes. 
£Feeding rations. 

Bank discount. 

Compound interest, 
f Money orders. 
fDivision tables. 

Time tests. 

Forecasting results. 
JGraphs, graphic prob- 
lems. 

Short cuts. 



*Duties, customs. 

Land problems. 

Improper fractions. 
^Flooring, roofing. 
JStock companies. 

Two-step problems. 

Reasoning problems, 
t Algebra, equations. 
JMasonry, brickwork. 
*tPowers, roots. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses : 

*Mechanics of arithmetic; abbreviations: lines; angles; prime numbers; greatest 
common divisor. 

fPractical applications; Agricultural clubs; board measure; bookkeeping; borrow- 
ing, loaning; budgets, inventories; concrete construction; construction work; cook- 
ing, menus; cooperative associations; corporations; cost of living; house plans; 
farm management, household accounts; household economics; household supplies; 
investments; invoices; land surveys; market reports; mortgages; negotiable papers; 
parcel post; rents; silo, silage; savings banks; temperature telling; yields, prices. 

Types of problems: Building, carpentry, cattle and dairy, clothing, cord wood, 
corn and crib, factory, fencing, food, fruit, gardening, hay, labor, live stock, machin- 
ery, marketing, mining, potato, poultry, pricing, sewing, sheep, swine, testing, 
thrift, weighing, wheat. 

Types of practical farm problems on selected topics are seldom 
included in arithmetic courses. Probably nowhere does the arith- 
metic course need building up more than in the outlines on types of 
farm problems, fully representative of life situations in the State 
or sections where the course is to be used. 

The tendency to eliminate obsolete and functionless material from 
rural courses in arithmetic has only fairly begun. This is made evi- 
dent from the following summary: The first column of figures indi- 
cates the per cent of 35 State courses in arithmetic that would 
discontinue the use of the topics; the second gives the per cent of 
867 city and county superintendents that would discontinue their 
use (Fourteenth Yearbook, Part 1). 

* Topics marked with a star (*) are listed in Wilson's study of 80 courses, " Motivation of School 
Work," p. 180. 

t Topics marked with a dagger (f ) bear on the mechanics of arithmetic: Forms, facts, tables, funda- 
menta 1 processes. 

% Topics marked with a double dagger (J) refer to the practical applications of arithmetic. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ARITHMETIC COURSES. 



77 



Per cent of State courses and of city and county superintendents who would discontinue 

use of certain subjects. 



Subjects discontinued. 


City and 
State county 
courses. ; superin- j 
tendents. j 


Subjects discontinued. 


State 
courses. 


City and 
county 
superin- 
tendents. 




34 53 
30 j 46 
30 i 35 j 
26 25 
26 47 i 

23 ! 

20 ; S 
20 ! 42 
20 i 35 ! 
20 j 41 
20 47 

17 ! ! 

17 22 
17 i 


♦Compound interest 


17 
17 
14 
14 

14 
14 
14 
14 
11 
8 
8 
8 
3 
3 




♦Cube root 




52 


♦Table of folding paper 












26 






20 






85 










20 






21 


♦Surveyor's measure 






Mensuration 












♦Partial payments. . .t 








1 1 







♦ Discontinuance of the use of starred topics recommended by a committee of teachers. Wilson, " Moti-- 
vation of School Work," p. 101. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The chief points for improvement in arithmetic courses for rural 
schools are as follows: 

(a) Shorter outlines provided. 

(6) The amount of time on daily programs reduced to a minimum. 

(c) The amount of drill in the fundamentals minimized to the point of maxi- 
mum efficiency. 

(d) The curriculum pruned thoroughly of its nonfunctioning material. 

(e) The functional and useful arithmetical material selected and adapted for us© 
in rural schools. 

(J) Type farm problems selected to serve as guides to teachers for local adapta- 
tion. 



Chapter VIII. 
ANALYTIC SURVEY OF COURSES IN CITIZENSHIP. 



For the purpose of this survey instruction in citizenship includes 
history, civics, and manners and morals. Training in these subjects 
is very important in any democratic school system. 

The average course in citizenship contains 27.9 pages, which is 
14.6 per cent of the space allotted to all subjects. Most of the space 
in history and civics is assigned to the four upper grades; and in 
manners and morals, to general suggestions (Tables 12 and 13). 

A vitalized course of study in citizenship may be thought of as one 
made up of activities and of present-day conditions which history is 
used to explain. By modern points of view history becomes a curric- 
ulum of subject matter that explains the present and teaches lessons 
in the conduct of life, while civics and manners and morals are cur- 
ricula of activities rather than of subject matter. 

The most frequently mentioned aims are not in line with these 
modern points of view. Knowledge aims or fact history and civics 
are dominant, rather than training for intelligent citizenship, train- 
ing in attitudes that find expression in worthy service, and the for- 
mation of habits of right conduct and healthful living. 

HISTORY. 

History ranks fifth among the school subjects in the average 
amount of space (18.8 pages) 44 State courses have allotted to its 
outlines. This represents one-tenth of the space allotted to 17 sub- 
jects (Table 14). 

Grade distribution of the length of outlines indicates that regular 
class instruction in history belongs to grades 5 to 8. In primary 
grades history stories are frequently made a part of language out- 
lines (Table 13). 

The following aims for teaching history appear most frequently : 

Awaken interest in past events. 
Gain useful historical knowledge. 
Create a love for historical readings. 
Develop the imagination. 
Form worthy ideals. 
Prepare for intelligent citizenship. 
Develop a strong moral character. 
Develop an historic sense. 

It is of interest to note the contrast between the aims appearing 
most frequently in State courses and those given in the Montana 
Rural Course. 

78 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF CITIZENSHIP COURSES. 



79 



The purpose of teaching history to children is to prepare them for intelligent 
citizenship in our democracy. 

By training them to think of the larger events and more pressing issues of the 
day in the light of their historic past. 

By giving them a true knowledge of the vital facts of our national life. 

By explaining how the world's liberty-loving people have advanced to their 
present freedom. 

By making them eager to contribute their part to the great world movements. 

There are two types of outlines. One is based on the textbook, 
with many page references. The other is an outline of the subject 
to be taught without regard to the textbook in use, except as a mat- 
ter of occasional references to places where information on certain 
matters may be found. The former type still prevails. The prob- 
lem idea for the organization of history and civics into one outline 
is coming into use, and it gives promise of far better results. 

Twenty States provide outlines in the story history of Europe pre- 
ceding the study of United States history in upper grades. Our 
country's story in the fifth grade with that of Europe in the sixth, 
is growing in favor. The dividing date between the outlines for sev- 
enth and eighth grades is 1830 in some courses published recently, 
rather than 1789, the dividing date in older courses. The change 
gives more time for history which has had more immediate effect on 
present conditions. There are 21 courses that outline our national 
history by presidential administrations, but there is a favorable ten- 
dency toward a few large natural periods. 

Nearly one-fifth (18.1 per cent) of all topics listed are topics in 
subjects belonging to the citizenship group. History contains more 
listed topics than any other subject. All but 18 history topics are 
distributed to the three upper grades, and all civics topics to the sev- 
enth and eighth (Table 18). 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HISTORY. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 



APPEARING IN 

Slavery, slaves. 

Historical pictures. 

Colonization, settlements 
^Indians, Indian life. 

Causes, effects. 

National growth. 

Biographies. 
*Manners, customs. 

Discoveries. 
^'Education, schools. 

Explorations. 
*National Constitution. 



80 PER CENT OR MORE OP 

History stories. 
* Famous men, leaders. 
*Home life, shelter. 
*Nationalities in America. 

Colonial governments. 
*Thanksgiving Day. 

English settlements. 

Spanish in America. 

Dutch in America, 
f Historical maps. 
*European history (back- 
ground). 



THE COURSES. 

*Government. 
*Trade, transportation. 

American Revolution. 

Civil War. 

French in America. 

Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 

Indian warfare. 

Louisiana Purchase. 

War of 1812. 



♦Topics marked with a star (*) have to do with affairs of to-day. 

t Topics marked with a dagger (f) pertain largely to methods of teaching. 



80 



STATE GOUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



APPEARING IN 60 to SO PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Historical events, 
international relations. 

Formation of Constitution . 
territorial expansion. 
*Food, its distribution, 
inventions. 
*Modes of travel. 
♦Washington's Birthday. 

Pioneer life. 
^Industries, occupations. 

Wars, conquests. 
*Rivalry between nations. 
*National holidays. 
*Clo thing, dress. 
*Foreign affairs. 
*Army, Navy. 

Missouri Compromise. 

Mexican War. 



Continental Congresses. 
♦Political parties. 
♦Money systems. 
*Telegram, The. 

Articles of Confederation. 
♦Tariff and free trade. 
*Panama Canal. 
♦Railroads. 
*Agriculture, farming. 
fComparisons, contrasts, 
f Development, changes. 
♦Printing, paper, books. 

Northwest Territory. 
fBooks, references, use of. 

Bible stories. 
*Patriots, heroes. 
♦Religious, churches. 

Spanish American War. 



immigration, emigration. 
*Roads, road building. 
♦Capital and labor. 

Crusades, The. 

Texas acquired. 

Southern Confederacy. 
*Treaties. 

Administrations. 
*Admission of States. 
♦Financial affairs. 
*Cities and towns. 
*Home State, History of. 

Groups of colonies. 
*Social life and affairs. 
♦Sports and amusements, 
industrial growth. 
♦Products.' 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Myths, legends. 
*Manufacturing. 
fCorrelated reading. 
*Historical poems, songs. 
♦Memorial Day. 

Primitive life. 
■{•Collecting materials. 
■(•Construction work. 
*Lincoln's Birthday 
♦Elections, primaries. 

Dred Scot decision. 
■"■Industrial revolution. 

Compromises. 

Greeks, The; Romans, 
The. 
fCorrelated subjects. 
*Land claims. 

Secession. 

Oregon Territory. 

Reconstruction in the 
South. 
♦Cotton, cotton gin. 
♦Telephone. 
fCorrelated geography. 
Constitutional amend- 
ments. 

Emancipation proclama- 
tion. 

Abolition of slavery. 

Colonial life. 

Religious toleration. 
*Taxation. 



♦Canals, waterways. 

Ordinance of 1787. 
f Paper cutting. 
*Growth of the West. 

United States a world 
power. 

Fugitive slave law. 

Spoils system. 

Spanish Armada. 
*Departments of Govern- 
ment. 

Commercial interference. 
*Gold and silver. 

Western trade routes. 

Confederation, The. 

Critical period, The. 

Kansas-Nebraska act. 

Impressment of seamen. 
*Fourth of July. 

New England Confeder- 
acy. 
*National Congress. 

Florida acquired. 
♦Erie Canal. 
*Presidents, The. 

Compromise of 1850. 

Civil-service reform. 
♦Steamboat, The. 
♦National highways. 

State rights, sovereignty. 
*Congressional debates. 

Dates, time limits. 



Boundary disputes. 

Eastern trade routes. 

Charter governments. 

Colonization motives. 

Stamp act, The. 

Nullification. 
♦Monroe doctrine. 
*Banks, banking. 

Military achievements. 

Local history. 
*Fur trading, furs. 
*Exposition, festivals. 

Teutons, The; Germans, 
The. 

French and Indian wars. 
*Labor unions. 
*Strikes, lockouts. 
*Alaska Territory. 

Business depression^, 
panics. 

Magna Charta, The. 

Battles, campaigns, 
f History charts. 

Geographical conditions. 

Religious persecution. 
■"■Revenues, expenditures. 
*Cost of wars. 
♦Natural resources. 
♦Farm machinery, imple- 
ments. 
* Woman suffrage. 
♦Peace, peace conferences. 



* Topics marked with a star (*) have to do with affairs of to-day. 

t Topics marked with a dagger (t) pertain largely to methods of teaching. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF CITIZENSHIP COURSES. 81 

The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent of 
the courses: 

*Affairs of to-day — Arbitration, diplomacy; authors, men of letters; buildings, tem- 
ples; Chinese "open door"; Christmas; child life; Columbus Day; communication, 
means of; conservation of natural resources; courts, trial by jury; Cuban relations; 
current events; domestic affairs; debts, National and State; fishing, fisheries; flags, 
United States flag; generals, soldiers; Hawaiian Islands; internal improvements; 
inaugurations; Indian reservations; inventors; land surveys; land tenure; mining, 
minerals; motives — national, personal; Philippine Islands; plantation life; popula- 
tion; Porto Rico; postal system; preamble to the Constitution; rural free delivery; 
scientists, science; seaports; ship building; State institutions; statesmen; trade re- 
lations; transportation, means of; trusts, corporations; universities, colleges; vot- 
ing, the ballot; wars, cost of; women, famous. 

Life: economic, industrial, institutional, political, religious, social. 

Nearly one-half (47 per -cent) of the listed topics pertain to the 
affairs of to-day. Topics on social, economic, and industrial life are 
few in number; while those on wars, political events, and pre-national 
history dominate the curriculum. Considered from the standpoint of 
such teaching aims for history as given in the Montana Rural Course 
noted earlier in this chapter, there is evident need for a reselection of 
history topics. 

State courses of study give the names of 514 famous men and 
women, 54 laws and acts of Congress, 158 places, 35 wars and rebel- 
lions, 105 battles, 79 poems, songs and speeches, and 34 products. 
They also give 167 dates. 

An effort was made to select the objective facts children should 
know when the history course is completed. The frequency with 
which such facts appear in courses of study fails to produce a truly 
representative and scientifically selected list. History courses of 
study for rural schools do not always give carefully selected names 
for study and for illustration of points made. The following names 
and titles appear in five or more courses. They are arranged under 
each topic heading in the order of their frequency of occurrence in 
State courses of study. The list is believed serviceable, even though 
only suggestive. The names and titles may be taken to represent very 
largely those facts which children should know when the elementary 
school history course is completed. 

1. Famous men and women, whose achievements should be known, grouped by 
suggestive periods: 

Bible characters — Joseph, David, Moses, Abraham, Daniel, Ruth. 

Greeks — Alexander, Ulysses, Leonidas, Socrates, Hercules (legendary). 

Romans — Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Romulus (legendary), Cincinnatus, Horatius, 
Constantine. 

Northern Europe — William Tell, Siegfried (legendary), William of Orange, King 
Canute, Luther. 

Southern Europe — Marco Polo, King Philip, Queen Isabella. 

French — Napoleon, Joan of Arc, William the Conqueror, Charlemagne, the Jesuits. 



82 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

British — Raleigh, Alfred the Great, King Arthur, Queen Elizabeth, Robert Bruce, 
William Pitt, Richard the Lion Hearted, Cromwell, King John, Robin Hood. 

Early people in America — Hiawatha (legendary), Samosetand Squanto, Pocahon- 
tas, Iroquois, Cliff and Cave Dwellers, Algonquins, Mound Builders, Eskimos. 

Finding the New World — Columbus, La Salle, Magellan, De Sota, the Northmen, 
Cortez, Drake, Champlain, John Cabot, Marquette, Joliet, Hudson, Ponce de Leon, 
Balboa, Cartier, Sebastian Cabot, Vespucius, De Gama. 

Making homes in the New World — Miles Standish, the Quakers, Pilgrim Fathers, 
William Penn, John Smith, the Puritans, Roger Williams, Lord Baltimore, John 
Winthrop, Oglethorpe, Peter Stuyvesant, the Patroons, the Cavaliers, the Huguenots. 

Conflict and struggle for supremacy — Washington, Franklin, Daniel Boone, George 
Rogers Clark, Burgoyne, Lafayette, Patrick Henry, Benedict Arnold, Montcalm and 
Wolfe, Nathan Hale, Samuel Adams, General Greene, Cornwallis, General Marion, 
General Braddock, Paul Revere, George III, Robert Morris, John Hancock. 

Forty years, 1789-1829 — Paul Jones, Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Webster, Hamil- 
ton, Clay, Robert Fulton, John Jay, John Adams, Calhoun, Madison, Eli Whitney, 
Commodore Perry, Monroe, Sevier. 

Thirty-two years, 1829-1861 — Jackson, Fremont, S. F. B. Morse, John Quincy 
Adams, Zachary Taylor, Buchanan, Wm. H. Harrison, Sam Houston, Kit Carson, 
David Crockett, Horace Greeley, McCormick, Longfellow, General Scott. 

Four years, 1861-1865 — Lincoln, Lee, Grant, John Brown, Farragut, Sherman, 
Douglas, Jefferson Davis. 

Fifty-five years, 1865-1920 — Andrew Johnson, Garfield, Roosevelt, McKinley, 
Cleveland, Harrison, Dewey, Edison, Taft, Wilson. 

Some names appearing in fewer than five courses — Samuel, Paul, Confucius, 
Homer, Cicero, Peter the Great, Queen Victoria, Shakespeare, Livingstone, Florence 
Nightingale, Robert Louis Stevenson, Betsy Ross, Horace Mann, Audubon, Clara 
Barton, Frances E. Willard, Cyrus W. Field, Jane Addams, Carnegie, Burbank, 
Pershing, Foch, David Lloyd-George. 

2. Inventions and discoveries: Approximate dates, important changes, chief bene- 
fits to man from each. Telegraph, railroads, printing, telephone, cotton gin, steam- 
boat, harvester, canals, sewing machine, cables, electric light, locomotive, battle- 
ships, mariner's compass, wireless, threshing machine, gunpowder, electric car, 
automobile. 

Appearing in fewer than five courses — Electricity, flying machine, phonograph, 
power loom, ether, vulcanizing rubber, gasoline, submarine, torpedo boat, picture 
machines, cream separator. 

3. Places of historic interest and battle fields: Location and historic facts connected 
with each. Boston, Quebec, Bunker Hill, New Orleans, Lexington, and Concord, 
Gettysburg, Jamestown, New York City, Philadelphia, Trenton, Valley Forge, Rich- 
mond, Vicksburg, Waterloo, Constantinople, Yorktown, Charleston, S. C, Fort 
Sumter, Savannah, Rome, Saratoga, Plymouth Rock, Acadia, Genoa, Manila Bay, 
St. Augustine, The Hague, Athens. 

4. Products: In what ways and to what extent each has contributed to the welfare 
of mankind. Money, cotton, furs, gold and silver, fish and game, forest products, 
live stock, coal, iron and steel, wheat, tobacco, corn, rice and sugar, oil and gas. 

5. Wars: Limit study to wars mentioned in the list of topics, except the World 
War. The Montana Rural Course would give time for nothing more than geograph- 
ical setting, remote and immediate cause, nature of military problems, opposing 
forces faced, resources for each side, plans and campaigns undertaken, study of one 
typical battle and mention of others, turning point, immediate and remote results, 
lessons taught, cost in life, suffering and treasure. 

6. Dates: Time relations more important than exact dates. Most important 
historical fact or event connected with each. 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF CITIZENSHIP COURSES. 



83 



1492, 1607, 1620, 1733, 1763, 1776, 1781, 1783, 1787, 1789, 1800, 1803, 1812, 1820, 
1829, 1850, 1860, 1865, 1898, 1914. 

7. Compromises and laws: Chief reasons for, important provisions of, and chief 
benefits derived from each. 

Compromise of 1820, Compromise of 1850, Stamp Act, fugitive slave law, Kansas- 
Nebraska act, Magna Charta, embargo and nonintercourse acta, Bill of Rights, alien 
and sedition laws, Ordinance of 1787, interstate commerce act, pure food and drug 
act. 

Constitution of the United States. Three constitutional compromises, seven 
divisions, preamble, recent amendments, departments of Government, chief powers 
of departments and of Congress, character of Government. 

8. Political parties: Chief beliefs and years in power only. Party platforms in 
I860 and of last presidential election. Federalists, Republicans, Whigs, Democrats. 

9. National growth and expansion: How and from whom secured. Important 
results from each acquisition. Limited to topics in the survey list on the acquisition 
of territory by our country. 

10. Periods of business depression: 1837, 1873, 1893, 1907. Development of effective 
means to prevent them. 

11. Home State: Leading contributions to National and State history. 

12. Poems, songs, and speeches: Correlated with reading and language. 

Holmes Old Ironsides. 

Whitman ..Captain, My Captain. 



Key Star-Spangled Banner. 

Lincoln Gettysburg Address. 

Smith America. 

Howe Battle Hymn of the Repub- 
lic. 

Finch The Blue and the Gray. 

Longfellow. Paul Revere's Ride. 

Drake American Flag. 

Jeff erson ... Declaration of Independ- 
ence. 

Longfellow . Hiawatha. 

Longfellow . Courtship of Miles Standish. 

Bryant Story of Marion's Men. 



Longfellow. Evangeline. 

Hemans . . .Landing of the Pilgrims. 

Read Sheridan's Ride. 

Longfellow. Skeleton in Armor. 

Miller Columbus. 

Emerson. . .Concord Hymn. 
Whittier . . . Barbara Fritchie. 

Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation. 

Holmes Grandfather's Story of 

Bunker Hill. 



CIVICS. 

Civics is one of the most useful subjects in which children need 
training, but it holds a very subordinate position in State courses. 
Class instruction has been limited to the one or two highest grades 
(Table 13). Correlated work with other subjects, particularly with 
history, and suggestive outlines for frequent morning exercises, are 
suggested as advisable changes from the present plan in most courses. 

The following are the aims for the teaching of civics mentioned in 
State courses: 

Knowledge of Government and our need for it. 
Knowledge of the duties of citizenship. 
Cultivation of right attitude toward Government. 
Possession of the spirit of our democratic institutions. 
Ability to read and interpret current events. 

There is a growing tendency to outline history and civics together. 
The subjects have common aims. A single outline on a course in 



84 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



citizenship, including all subjects of the group, permits closer organi- 
zation and correlation of topics and aids the rural teacher in solving: 
her program problems. 

The survey list of topics shows that State courses of study subor- 
dinate community civics to facts of civil government. Most of them 
contain little or nothing of value in the training of children for citi- 
zenship in our democracy through civic activities, and in the solution 
of live civic problems. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CIVICS. 
Arranged in the Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study*. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OF THE COURSES. 



State government. 
Rights and duties. 
Government. 
National Government. 



County government. 
National Constitution. 
School district government. 



APPPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



Home and family government. 
Officers, public office. 
Village, town government. 
Elections, nominations. 
Comparison of governments. 
Legislative department. 
Courts, trial by jury. 



Executive department. 
Laws, lawmaking. 
Judicial department. 
City government. 
Township, town government. 
Education, schools. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



Departments of Government. 

Taxation. 

Political parties. 

Powers of Government. 

Public health. 

Money, 'coinage system. 

Army, Navy. 

Senators, Representatives. 



Protection, life and property 
Constitutional amendments. 
Revenues, expenditures. 
Community civics. 
How a bill becomes a law. 
Patriotism. 
Roads and bridges. 
Postoffice, postal system. 



Some suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent of the 
courses : 

Banks, banking; care of poor; character lessons; churches; citizenship clubs; work 
of Congress; currents events; fire protection; food inspection; initiative, referendum, 
recall; naturalization; parcel post; parks, playgrounds; police system; property 
rights; public improvements; public institutions; public property. 

The topics appearing in fewer than 14 courses indicate a tendency 
among progressive courses to give less attention to civil government, 
as such, and more attention to the civics which touches home and. 
community life. 



ANALYTIC SUEVEY OF CITIZENSHIP COURSES. 



85 



Bassett found that 25 significant and persistent civics problems 
cover the entire field of political discussions. 1 He determined their 
rank by frequency of mention and by linear inches of space in 
national party platforms from 1844 to 1916, inclusive. The topics 
are listed here in the order of their frequency of appearance in 35 
State courses in history and civics, the figures giving the number of 
courses in which found. The rank order in Bassett's list is shown 
in the second column of figures. 

Frequency of topics in State courses of study. 



Topics. 



Constitution 

Education 

Parties 

Monetary system 
Public finance.. . 

Suffrage 

Justice 

Legislation 

Defense 

Personal rights. . . 

•Commerce 

Immigration 

Territories 



Fre- 




quency. 




29 


17 


26 


21 


22 


19 1 


21 


9 


20 


1 


19 


16 


19 


23 


17 


12 


16 


10 


15 


15 


14 


13 


14 


5 


13 


14 | 



Topics. 



Fre- 
quency. 



17 Postal system 

Public office 

Industry 

Health 

Foreign relations.. 

Moralreform 

State rights 

Natural resources . 

Labor 

Corporations 

Pensions 

Public works 



Rank. 



By comparison of civics problems as contained in party platforms 
with civics topics in State courses it is made evident that children 
liave to go outside of civics courses to get the civics instruction they 
need. Only 7 of the 25 topics listed above appear more frequently 
in civics courses than in history courses. 

MANNERS AND MORALS. 

This subject holds the least prominent position among the subjects 
of the curriculum (Table 15). Twenty-seven States provide outlines 
or suggestions for the training of children in manners and morals. 
It is advisable to give suggestions on State courses regarding the 
training of children in proper manners and morals, but providing 
graded outlines on the various virtues is not justified by practice. 

The dominant aim of moral education is the development of proper 
Attitudes, giving rise to worthy conduct. The most frequently stated 
reasons for training in manners and morals are: 

To cultivate a sense of moral obligation and duty. 

To produce law-abiding, law-respecting citizens. 

To arouse high moral ideals. 

To kindle ambition and instill confidence. 

To develop a moral character. 

State courses of study are, in general, against formal instruction 
in morals at school. The most effective way of training children in 



1 Bassett, "The Content of the Course of Study in Civics," in Seventeenth Yearbook of the National 
Society for the Study of Education, Part I, p. 63. 



86 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOE BUBAL SCHOOLS. 



manners and morals is, in all probability, through regular lessons 
and in connection with all school activities. 

There are numerous virtues for the training of children. From 25 
to 50 of the leading virtues may well be selected for occasional spe- 
cial attention during opening exercises. Opportune times at psycho- 
logical moments should not be lost for special lessons in conduct. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MANNERS AND MORALS. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 27 State Courses of Study. 



APPEARING I 


N 80 PEE CENT OR MORE OP TB 


E COURSES. 


*Obedience. 


*Patriotism. 


*Truthfulness. 


■f-*Honesty, reliability. 


*Politeness. 


Courage, bravery. 


fSelf-control. 


f Kindness to animals. 


*Courtesy. 


t Justice, fairness. 


t*Industry, good workman- 


Regard for others. 


f Kindness to others. 


ship. 




APPEARINf 


J IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OP THE 


COURSES. 


Charity. 


Good manners. 


*Reverence. 


t*Cleanliness. 


Helpfulness. 


Self-respect. 


Neatness. 


Generosity, hospitality. 


Cheerfulness. 


Promptness. 


Service. 


Patience. 


*Respect. 


■("Cooperation. 


Faithfulness. 


Accuracy. 


Personality. 


Responsibility. 


t Fidelity, loyalty. 


*Punctuality. 




APPEARING 


3 IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE 


COURSES. 


Gratitude. 


tHealth. 


Perseverance. 


Nobility. 


Thankfulness. 


Leadership. 


Forgiveness. 


Right conduct. 


High ideals. 


tDuty. 


Self-reliance. 


Purity. 


Love. 


Orderliness. 


Unselfishness. 


Temperance. 


Honor. 





A content that is vital to the life of children is also vital to their 
moral development. Courses in arithmetic, history, reading, lan- 
guage, and geography should become more truly moral courses by 
having woven into their outlines the socialized moral contents vital 
to a child's life. The most effective way of presenting morals in 
courses of study is, in all probability, through the regular lessons in 
all subjects. Courses in the various subjects are lacking helpful 
suggestions on effective correlation. 

Every subject should be made a moral subject. "A subject of 
study consisting of material so selected and so organized as to influ- 
ence behavior in some desirable way is, undoubtedly, a moral course." 
If this is to be the ideal of the new rural course, then many State 

* Ten virtues most necessary to be established in children as selected by 1,000 Oregon teachers in 
1917. (Reported by the State superintendent of Oregon.) 

t Contained in "Children's Code of Morals for Elementary Schools," National Institute of Moral 
Instruction, Washington, D. C 



ANALYTIC SURVEY OF CITIZENSHIP COURSES. 87 

courses need to be so rewritten as to contain the functional material 
that results in desirable conduct. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following principles of guidance for the improvement of courses 
in citizenship for rural schools are suggested : 

(a) Ungraded general suggestions provided for the teaching of each citizenship 
subject. 

(b) Graded outlines in history provided for grades five to eight. 

(c) History and civics outlined with language in the four lower grades. For grades 
five to eight history and civics outlined together. 

(d) Manners and morals made a part of the socialized moral content of every 
subject. 

(«) Training for intelligent citizenship made dominant. 

(/) Study of American history in upper grades preceded by the story history of 
Europe. 

(g) Those content materials in history selected that explain the present. 

(h) Community civics emphasized with less attention to mere facts of government. 

(t) Material organized about live problems on a level with the ability of children. 
National history broken up into lengthened periods for study. 

( j) Selection of those objective facts which should be quite generally known. 



Chapter IX. 
ANALYTIC SURVEY OF ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SUBJECTS. 



Science is a fundamental subject for the elementary schools. The 
child that has not had instruction in elementary science " has missed 
a vital part of his life " for " he can not himself derive so much pleas- 
ure from life, he can not be so successful, nor can he be of so much 
service to others." 1 

The general term " elementary science " is made to include in this 
chapter geography, hygiene, physical education, and nature study. 
To include geography a broader interpretation of elementary science 
is needed than is commonly applied to it. Geography is constantly 
dealing with science topics, 2 but it is no more the real science of geog- 
raphy than languauge is grammar or that nature study is botany or 
physics. Six States provide courses in elementary science, and these 
sometimes include some simpler experiments in physics and chemistry, 
but not geography. Physical education was placed in this chapter 
because of its close relation to hygiene. The only phase of science 
not included in this group is agriculture. In its practical applications 
for an elementary subject, agriculture belongs so largely to the field 
of industry that it was thought best to connect it with that group 
(Ch. X). 

As a group, elementary science subjects hold a central position in 
the curriculum. State courses give these subjects one-sixth (16.1 
per cent) of recitation time and 23 per cent of the space given to 
all subjects (Table 17). The subjects are rich in materials, for the 
courses contain 852 topics, 56 per cent of which have not been included 
in the survey lists. The most prominent subject of the group is geog- 
raphy. Physical education has been very largely neglected in rural 
schools. 

GEOGRAPHY. 

The average elementary science course contains 46.6 pages, 20 
pages of which are devoted to geography (Table 17). The major 
part of the geography work is given in grades four to seven. Four 
years for class instruction in geograghy is all that a rural program 
usually contains. 

1 Trafton, The Teaching of Science in the Elementary Schools, p. 9. 
•Ibid., p. 23. 



ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SUBJECTS. 



89 



General aims are mentioned infrequently, 
as follows: 



They may be stated 



Train the senses on observation. 

Develop the power to think clearly. 

Give ability to join things together. 

Give ability to locate places and things of interest. 

Cultivate and develop the imagination. 

Acquire a body of useful knowledge about the world. 

Understand home and surrounding conditions. 

Some of these aims are quite as well adapted to other subjects. 
Quite in contrast are the following aims, taken from the Montana 
Rural Course : 

To give children the power to solve the simpler geographical problems bearing 

upon human life. 
To establish habits of thinking clearly and accurately in this problem solving. 
To instill in children a sincere respect for all mankind. 
To meet adequately the growing needs for useful geographical knowledge. 

There is no agreement as to the best plan for organizing geographi- 
cal material. The problem method is given prominence in the New 
Jersey, Ohio, Minnesota, and Montana courses. 

The courses of study mention quite frequently such teaching helps 
as maps, pictures, and books on travel. Many of these helps are 
indispensable in school work. 

Geography is especially rich with materials. The survey list con- 
tains 146 topics. Many of these refer to physical features, rather 
than to the simpler geographical problems of every day life. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OP THE COURSES. 

United States. 



Climate. 

Rivers, river basins. 

Rain, rainfall. 

Mountains, hills. 

Human life, people. 

Animal life. 

Comparative geography. 

Cities. 

Surface. 



Plant life. 

Location, direction. 

Exports, imports. 

Lakes. 

Products. 

Highlands, elevations. 

Seasons. 

Mineral products. 

Vegetables. 



Observational geography. 

Continents. 

Soils. 

Winds. 

Industries, occupations. 

North America. 

Europe. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 



PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



Map drawing. 
Commerce. 
Plains. 

Causes, effects. 
Manufacturing. 
Asia. 

South America. 
23606—23- 



Ocean currents. 

Fruits, nuts. 

Valleys. 

Political divisions. 

Oceans. 

Food, its distribution. 

Snow, ice. 



Population . 

Africa. 

Australia. 

Relative areas. 

Land forms. 

Agriculture. 

Drainage. 



90 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OP THE COURSES — Continued. 



Wind belts. 
Farm life. 
Water forms. 
Islands. 
Railroads. 
Commercial cities. 



Forests, trees. 
Governments, comparison 

of. 
Clothing, dress. 
Latitude. 
Physical features. 



Water life. 
Heat belts. 
Longitude, time. 
Globe study. 
Lowlands, depressions. 
Air pressure. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Means of transportation. 

Moisture, humidity. 

Fishing. 

Industrial geography. 

Type studies. 

Herding, grazing. 

Deserts. 

Irrigation. 

Cattle. 

Customs, manners. 

Canals, waterways. 

Cloudiness. 

Drawing, modeling. 

Atlantic coastal plain. 

Relative position, location. 

Manufactured products. 

Children of other lands. 

Home geography. 

Map reading. 

Domestic animals. 

Map study. 

Races of men. 

Slopes. 

■Lumber, lumbering. 

Relief maps. 

Imaginary journeys. 

Home State. 



Places of scenic interest. 

Divides, mountain axes. 

Indentations. 

Shelter, homes. 

Frosts, dew. 

Weather records. 

Temperature. 

Trade routes. 

Iron, steel. 

Mining. 

Story geography. 

Excursions, field trips. 

Harbors, docks. 

Grassy plains, prairies. 

Land, water distribution. 

Corn. 

Tropical fruits. 

Wheat. 

Boundaries of countries. 

Coast line, shore forms. 

Wool, woolens. 

Collected specimens. 

Descriptive geography. 

Weather. 

Absolute areas. 

Navigable rivers. 

Product maps. 

Deltas. 

The following suggestive topics, appearing in fewer than 40 per 
cent of the courses, are classified for convenient reference under larger 
topics of which they form a part : 

Physical features: Day and night, zones of light, planets and the solar system, 
evaporation and condensation, land erosion, volcanoes, capes, canyons, waterfalls, 
waves and tides, barriers to migration. 

Life: Wild animals, birds; tundra, orchards, vineyards; health and healthfulness, 
population; Arabian life, Chinese life, Eskimos. 

Countries, regions: Oceanica, product regions, colonial possessions, Great Basin, 
Gulf Coastal Plain, Lake plain, Piedmont belt. 

Industries: Hunting, quarrying, shipbuilding, planting and harvesting, truck 
gardening, fruit growing, meat packing. 

Products: Barley, berries, coffee, potatoes, rice, salmon, spices, tea, tobacco; 
flax and linens, furs and feathers, hemp and jute, leather goods, rubber, rugs and 



New England States. 

Forest products. 

^Map of small areas. 

Sun, moon, stars. 

Sugar. 

County, township maps. 

Cotton goods, cotton. 

Plateaus. 

Glaciers, glaciation. 

Insects, insect life. 

Motions of the earth. 

Education, schools. 

Coal, coal mines. 

Gereals, grains. 

Farm crops. 

Physical geography. 

Picture study. 

Peninsulas, isthmuses. 

Social life. 

Roads, road building. 

Dairying, stock raising. 

Gold, silver. 

Animal products. 

Forage cropB. 

United States by sections. 

Commercial geography. 

Indians. 



ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SUBJECTS. 91 

carpets, silk, boots and shoes; horses, sheep, swine, dairy products; copper and lead, 
marble and granite, nitrates, and phosphates, oil and natural gas, salt, sand, clay and 
lime, precious stones; household furnishings, machinery and implements, vehicles, 
building materials, public buildings, drugs. 

Trade: Means of communication, highways of travel, steamships, trade relations, 
travel and touring. 

Government lands, natural resources, wealth, and poverty. 

Almost as many topics (142) appear in fewer than 40 per cent of 
the courses as appear in more than this number of courses. These 
topics mentioned less frequently, are very similar in type to those in 
the list above. The abundance of teaching materials points to the 
need of their close organization, which may possibly be done best in 
the form of problems. 

Topical outlines for use in connection with the study of many 
countries are given in some courses. The writer believes these should 
be omitted from the courses, or modified to conform in " type " to 
the outline submitted. 

I. Physical features: 

(a) Relative location; relative area. 

(b) General form. In comparison. 

(c) Selected border lands and surrounding waters. Commercial impor- 

tance. 

(d) Character of shore line. Commercial importance. 

(e) Most prominent surface features. How they affect man. 
(/) River systems. Commercial importance. 

(g) Character and fertility of soil. How it favors or hinders man in his 

work. 
(h) Climate — temperature, winds, rainfall. Causes and effects. 
(i) Life — human, plant, animal — as affected by physical features. 
II. Political divisions: 

(a) Large countries, place among powers. 

(b) Population. Occupations of laboring classes. Language, education, 

government, chief characteristics. Cities as industrial and trade 
centers. 

(c) Important products — kind, abundance, value — from farm, factory, 

mine, forest, or sea. 

(d) Nearness to market, trade and transportation. Effect on develop- 

ment of region or country. 

(e) Special features — places of scenic or historic interest. 
III. Educative map drawing or sketching to accompany study. 

Ten courses allot 14 per cent of program time in geography to 
physical features and 16 per cent to home geography. In the same 
courses the content materials are assigned to six grades. By organiz- 
ing the course in geography according to the problem method, as is 
done in the Montana course, no time would be allotted either to 
home geography or to physical features as such. Problems in rela- 
tional facts should give all the facts needed and their solution should 
train children to apply such facts to the everyday problems of life. 



92 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



Recommendations regarding facts of place are not lacking in quan- 
tity. State outlines in geography contain the names of 78 countries, 
146 land farms, 160 water farms, 302 cities, 53 places of interest, 
250 plants, animals, and products, 30 occupations of men, 16 human 
types, and 83 famous historians. The farm, factory, mine, forest, 
and sea are common sources of products. A representative list of 
objective facts of place in their relational aspects would be a useful 
guide both for curriculum writers and class teachers. 

HYGIENE. 

Hygiene outlines in some courses are brief and inadequate. One- 
third of the space given to these outlines is allotted to general sug- 
gestions. The largest percentage of grade space is allotted to grades 
six and seven. 

A few motivated and well-stated aims in teaching hygiene are 
given, but they appear very infrequently. Those mentioned in 10 
or more courses are: 

Establish health, habits. 

Preserve and improve bodily health. 

Establish habits of personal hygiene. 

Secure and keep an efficient body. 

Establish sanitary habits. 
Very few courses give anything in the way of helpful suggestions on 
the best methods to be used in teaching or training. Hygiene instruc- 
tion in rural schools is known to be poor. Inadequate courses, lacking 
in methods, may have had much to do with the poor teaching found 
in schools. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HYGIENE. 

Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OF THE COURSES. 



Health habits. 

Eating (how, what). 

Sleep, rest. 

Purity of water. 
*Digestion. 
*Blood, blood vessels. 

Clothing, its care. 

Position, carriage. 

Care of teeth, mouth. 

Exercise, recreation. 

Care of hair, nails. 

Stimulants, narcotics. 

Sanitation. 

* Topics marked with a star (*) 
t Topics marked with a dagger 



Alcohol, its effects. 

Food, food values. 
fAccidents, emergencies. 
*Musclee, muscular system. 

Pure fresh air. 

Care of body. 

Tobacco. 
*Breathing. 
*Nerves, nervous system. 

Neatness, cleanliness. 

Milk, its care. 

Bathing. 
"Circulation. 

pertain largely to physiology, 
(t) refer to diseases. 



*Heat, heating. 

Health, its care. 

Care of eyes. 
*Lungs, their care. 
*Eyes, sight. 

Cooking, serving. 
*Ears, hearing. 
*Heart, heart action. 

Tea, coffee. 

Bones, skeleton. 
fWounds, cuts, bruises. 
fContagious diseases. 
*Brain, spinal cord. 



ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SUBJECTS. 



93 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



•Perspiration, the skin. 
•Respiratory Byetem. 

Ventilation. 

Care of the skin. 
*Nose, smell. 
•Special senses. 
•Structure of organs. 

Voice, its care. 
•Functions of organs. 

Proteids, meats. 

Plays and games. 



tBurns, blisters. 

Flies, mosquitoes. 
fDisease germs. 
fCommon diseases. 

Physical exercises. 
fTuberculosis. 

Care of the ears. 
fBlood poisoning. 
*Teeth, their structure. 
fDrowning. 



tTyphoid fever. 

Fruits, vegetables. 

Personal hygiene. 
•Stomach, its uses. 
*Throat. 
fChoking, coughing, snee: 

ing. 
fColds, their prevention. 

Health regulations, 
t Fain ting, fits. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



*Organs of the body. 
•Tendons, ligaments. 
•Touch, feelings. 
fAdenoids. 

Testing eyes. 

Cigarette smoking. 

Food varieties. 

Disinfectants, antiseptics. 
*Kidneys, The. 

Hygiene of organs. 
•Tongue, taste. 
•Excretory organa. 
* Absorption, assimilation. 
*Intestines. 
•Oxidation, blood purity. 



jFevers, headaches. 

First aid. 

Experiments. 
•Mastication . 
fBacteria. 

Food, its care. 
•Tissue cells. 

Soap, toilet articles. 

Table manners. 

Animals, their care. 
fScarlet fever. 
fSmallpox. 
fNose bleeding. 

Garbage, its disposal. 

Sunshine, its value. 



jtBroken bones, disloca- 
tions. 

Public health. » 
•Waste products. 
fMeasles. 

Air. composition. 

Preventives. 
•Organs of secretion. 
tDiphtheria 
•Glands, their work. 

Nutrition, 
f Preventable diseases. 

Drainage, sewerage. 
•Lymph, "lymphatics . 
•The liver, its, work. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent of 
the courses: 

Adulteration, antitoxin, bandaging, candy and chewing gum, getting rid of dirt, 
drinking fountains, drugs, dust and dusting, fires and matches, food inspection, food 
laws, ice and its uses, insects and health, school lunches, medical inspection, patent 
medicines, relaxation, sleeping rooms, sanitary surveys, vaccination. 

While topics in physiology no longer dominate the curriculum, 
they are still prominent. They are usually presented without 
showing how they support health habits. In this lies their chief 
weakness. 

The courses of study are very largely negative in that they state 
what not to do and how to cure, rather than how to prevent and to 
avoid. This is even more evident from the topics appearing in 5 to 
13 courses than from the survey list. Preventative measures would 
make fewer occasions for the use of corrective methods. 

Practically all the topics pertain to the acquisition of knowledge, 
rather than to proper habits and ideals. Proper ideals and attitudes 



* Topics marked with a star (*) pertain largely to physiology, 
t Topics marked with a dagger (t) refer to diseases. 



94 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



and the formation of health habits are exceedingly slow in develop- 
ing under the influence of "bookish discussions." 

The hygiene courses of the future, as indicated by recently published 
courses, are to be dedicated to an exclusive health program. They 
encourage the establishing of health habits and the cultivation of 
high ideals, both as to personal and community hygiene. 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 
Physical education is one of the most neglected school subjects. 
Nineteen States provide no outline in this subject (Table 9). Some 
courses provided are brief and inadequate. Little attention has 
been given the subject in rural schools. 

For rural schools there is little need for grade division of work 
found in a few courses. Three-fourths of the space assigned to 
physical education is given to general suggestions (Table 13). 
The most frequently mentioned aims are : 
Make children physically fit. 
Promote health among children. 
Establish habits of correct thought and action. 
Secure a cheerful, friendly disposition. 
Develop morality and build character. 
Secure orderliness and good behavior. 
Develop spontaneity and initiative. 

The aims usually mentioned in courses are important, but they 
are given incidentally and infrequently. In consequence, teachers 
are likely to continue following the traditional track of care-free 
recesses and noons. 

Little mention is made of supervised playgrounds, organized play, 
or methods of instruction in physical education, except through 
games. Their importance suggests the need for definite directions 
in organizing the school for play activities. 

The following topics in physical education, arranged in the order 
of their frequency of appearance in 25 State courses of study, appear 
in 10 or more courses: 



Sports, amusements. 
*Plays and games. 

Races. 

*Physical exercise. 
*Folk dances. 
*Dances, dancing. 
•Dancing games. 

Relay races. 

Ball games. 



*Singing games. 
*Team, group play. 
*Recreation. 
*Gymnastics. 

*Correct position, posture. 
*Athletics. 
*Play ground games. 
*Correct breathing. 
Supervised play. 



Strength tests. 

Running and hiding. 
*Whole body exercises. 

Tag games. 

Cooperation. 

Hopping games. 

Swimming exercises 
* Formative exercises. 



Most of the 26 topics in the survey list pertain to plays and games 
of one kind or another. Fourteen of them are given by Rapeer as 
reported in the Sixteenth Yearbook. 



* Topics marked with a star (*) are contained in Rapeer's list of "Minimal Essentials in Physical 
Education, " in the Sixteenth Yearbook, Part I, pp. 1S3-184. 



ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SUBJECTS. 95 

Bean-bag games, building games, calisthenics, corrective exercises, dashes, first 
aid, safety first, jumping, leaping, marching, observing rules, rowing, schoolroom 
games, skating, stretching, walking, wrestling. 

There is a tendency to include under physical education all topics 
bearing on vital efficiency. Correlation with hygiene is essential to a 
realization of desired aims. It would be well to devote some class 
periods in hygiene to the study of problems growing out of school 
and home physical activities. That which the home and community 
do not supply the school must give, if desirable standards are to be 
reached. The school should assume a measure of control and wise 
direction over outside activities. For this purpose the following 
topics might well be included or correlated with this subject: 

*Free play, *caring for animals, or *home chores, health chores, *easy calisthenic 
exercises, handicrafts, *manual training, *gardening, *domestic science, *fire drills, 
*Scout and Camp Fire activities, *rhythmic games, *excursions or hikes, dramatiza- 
tion, and Relaxation exercises. 

State courses give the titles of 706 games and exercises. It is ad- 
visable to include descriptions of selected games in the course of 
study, if such descriptions are not otherwise made available for the 
schools. 

A certain amount of equipment is essential to effective training. 
Suggestive lists may well be included in courses. 

Irresponsibility for and nonattention to children's play activities 
are likely to continue so long as teachers are not brought under the 
direct supervision of a course of study fully explaining the meaning, 
method, value, and responsibility for organized play and setting forth 
definite helps in making playground and school activities contribute 
to vital efficiency. 

NATURE STUDY. 

Nature study is one of the prominent subjects for primary and in- 
termediate grades (Table 13). It occupies a central position among 
the subjects of the curriculum. 

The rapid decrease in the amount of space allotment for the grades 
from the first to the eighth indicates a common practice in one- 
teacher schools of organizing one or two classes for lower and inter- 
mediate grades. 

The aims mentioned most frequently are: 

Develop the habit of close and exact observation. 

Develop an intelligent appreciation of nature. 

Bring the child into an intelligent, sympathetic relation with his environment 

of nature. 
Interest the child with nature about him . 
Create interest in and supply needs of other subjects. 

The most commonly stated aim is that of cultivating the habit of 
observation. Students of nature study would make nature study's 

*,Topics marked with a star (*) are contained in Rapeer's list of "Minimal Essentials in Physical 
Education," in the Sixteenth Yearbook, Part I, pp. 183-184. 



96 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



contribution to the joys of living and the cultivation of right attitude 
toward life the leading aims. 

It is doubtful if generalized observation methods without definite 
directions have given help of any consequence to the average teacher 
untrained for this work. The problem method for organization of 
content and for instruction gives promise of real teaching and the 
cultivation of a right attitude toward life. 

The topics mentioned most frequently are fairly representative 
of the teaching materials nature study has to offer. The relative 
amount of attention to be given each topic is a matter for local 
adaptation. There are many topics which did not appear frequently 
enough to place them in the survey list. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NATURE STUDY. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OF THE COURSES. 



Animals, animal life. 

Plants, plant life. 

Birds. 

Stems, roots, bulbs. 

Classification of animals. 



Butterflies, moths. 
Fruits, nuts. 
Insects, insect life. 
Observation lessons. 
Flowers, buds. 



Leaves. 
Soils, rocks. 
Bird migration. 
Collected specimens 
Sun, moon, stars. 
Food of animals. 
Gardening. 
Horses. 
Weather. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OP THE 

Snow, ice. 
Winds, rainfall. 
Birds, nests, neBting. 
Seed germination. 
Wild flowers. 
Uses of animals. 
Domesticated animals. 
Wild animals. 
Flies, mosquitoes. 



Tree studies, forests. 
Seeds, seed studies. 
Cat, dog. 
Vegetables. 
Habits of animals. 



Care of animals. 

Evergreen trees. 

Cattle. 

Frogs, toads. 

Life history of animals. 

Bees, honey. 

Grain, cereals. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF 



Identifying plants. 

Shade trees. 

Frost, dews. 

Plant growth. 

Pet animals. 

Cocoons. 

Seasons. 

Seed dispersion. 

Poultry. 

Collected seeds. 

House plants. 

Drawing exercises. 

Identifying animals. 

Bird songs and calls. 

Water studies. 

Sheep. 

Air, temperature. 

Wood, tree products. 



Weeds, weed studies. 

Corn. 

Excursions, field trips. 

Care of plants. 

Weather records. 

Animal characteristics. 

Grasshoppers. 

Natural phenomena. 

Planting. 

Snakes, turtles. 

Kindness to animals. 

Ants. 

Experiments. 

Names of birds. 

Bird calendar. 

Bird habits. 

Earth worms. 

Minerals. 



THE COURSES. 

Enemies of animals. 

Heat and light for plants. 

Window gardens. 

Clouds, mist, fog. 

Day, night. 

Signs of spring. 

Air and water for plants. 

Seasonal topics. 

Swine. 

Shrubbery. 

Vines. 

Direction, location. 

Orchard fruit. 

Grasses. 

Picture study. 

Potatoes. 



ELEMENTAEY SCIENCE SUBJECTS. 97 

Many topics did not occur frequently enough to be included in the 
survey list. . The following topics appeared in fewer than 14 courses: 

Animals— their clothing, homes, intelligence, means of self-defense and training. 
Household pests — bugs and beetles, insects, spiders, fish, pond life, snails and slugs. 

Plants — shapes, forms and sizes, characteristics, plant descriptions, plant food, 
poisonous plants, flowering plants, uses of plants. Farm crops — cotton, hay and pas- 
ture, oats and rye, wheat. Garden flowers; school gardens. 

Minerals — coal, iron. 

Natural phenomena — weathering and erosion, freezing and thawing, heat, land- 
scape study, light and sounds, streams, seasonal changes, fire and its uses. 

Method topics — bird diagrams, collecting nests, flower calendars, clay and sand 
models, mountings, pressing specimens, exhibits. 

There is a large amount of repetition of the same work in the sev- 
eral grades. This may cause the average child to lose interest and 
cultivate a dislike for nature. Rotation by years within a class 
made up of children from three or four grades is a possible means of 
correcting this tendency = 

Possibly the greatest weakness in efficient nature study in country 
schools is the lack of proper training possessed by the average teacher. 
Until more teachers have had proper training in nature study the 
needs of the subjects are not likely to be keenly felt, however vital 
the subject may be to our every day lives. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following directions for the improvement of courses in geogra- 
phy, hygiene, physical education, and nature study for rural schools 
are suggested : . 

(a) Outlines provided in geography for grades four to eight, in hygiene for grades 
six and seven, and in nature study for grades one to four. 

(6) In lower grades geography correlated with nature study and hygiene with 
language. 

(c) A general ungraded outline provided in physical education. 

(d) Meaningful aims provided for each subject and for each grade. These aims 
set at the head of each outline, and apart from it, as important considerations. 

(e) The best methods of teaching each subject made prominent. 

(/) The courses organized about related problems, graded as to difficulty and 
properly motivated with definite suggestions on best ways of accomplishing the 
assigned tasks. 

(g) Definite directions regarding the organization of the school for play activities 
clearly set forth. 

(h) Those content materials selected which best meet our needs for geographical 
knowledge, which make for healthful living, and which cultivate high ideals and 
right attitude toward life. 

(i) In geography those relational facts selected which children may be expected 
to know when the course is completed. 

(_?') Full explanation of meaning, method, value, and responsibility of teachers 
for organized and supervised play. 

(k) The amount of repetition of the larger topics in geography and hygiene re- 
duced to a minimum. 



Chapter X. 
ANALYTIC SURVEY OF INDUSTRY AND ART COURSES. 



Modern education has stressed the useful and functional side of 
every subject. The arts of beauty — drawing and music — have been 
so modified as to make their grouping with the useful arts — agri- 
culture, household arts, and manual arts — advisable for the purpose 
of this survey. In the survey report household arts includes cooking, 
sewing, and household management; and manual arts includes so- 
called industrial or seat work for lower grades. 

This is the most neglected group of subjects. Primary causes in 
this neglect have been the lack of preparation and experience of 
country teachers and the small time allotment on daily programs 
(Table 6). The fundamental subjects have kept industrial subjects 
off the programs. The subjects of this group are rich in content 
materials, and the vital relation of this material to rural life gives 
rise to a need for better teachers of the subjects and for more time 
for these subjects on the schedule of classes. 

More than one-fifth (22.3 per cent) of the space given to all subjects 
is allotted to the subjects of this group (Table 12). One of the most 
important, as well as one of the most prominent subjects in the 
rural school curriculum . is agriculture. Agriculture and household 
arts are seventh and eighth grade subjects. There is fairly even 
grade distribution of space for the other subjects of the group, and 
some attention is usually given to them in all grades (Table 13). 

The subjects of this group have much to do with activities of a 
varied nature; hence, the doing side should be stressed. Much of 
the work can be presented, and properly, too, in the form of projects 
and problems. Courses of study have not, as a rule, emphasized 
the need for proper methods of teaching these subjects. 

AGRICULTURE. 

There is little agreement as to the most important aims in teaching 
agriculture. Some courses are weak in not presenting live aims or in 
their failure to state aims simply and clearly. The aims appearing 
most frequently in the courses are : 

Create interest in and respect for farming. 
Develop ability to apply knowledge to farm practice. 
98 



INDUSTRY AND ART COURSES. 



99 



Utilize the everyday experiences of children fully. 
Cultivate the power of observation. 
Promote health, happiness, and prosperity. 

The most common method of teaching agriculture is the textbook 
method. Teachers have been encouraged in the use of this method 
by the type of outlines in some States. There are few method topics. 
The project and the problem methods are coming into use. 

Agriculture is exceedingly rich and varied in content materials 
The materials have to do with plant culture (47 per cent), animal 
husbandry (20 per cent), farm management and improvement (27 
per cent), and plans and methods of teaching (6 per cent). Facts 
about farm work are emphasized. The large amount of teaching 
materials gives rise to a need for principles of guidance in their selec- 
tion, to make it possible for rural teachers to select content wisely. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGRICULTURE. 
Arranged in the Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OF THE COURSES. 



Soils, soil. 

Planting, sowing. 

Corn. 

Seed testing, germination. 

Seed studies. 

Potatoes. 

Insects, insect life. 

Agricultural clubs. 

Vegetables. 

Seed selection. 

Poultry. 

Fertilizer, fertilization. 

Soil cultivation. 

Farm crops. 



Soil moisture. 
Experiments. 
Animal husbandry. 
Farm buildings. 
Plant diseases. 
Swine. 
Plant food. 
Plants, plant life. 
Dairying. 
Clover, alfalfa. 
Manure management. 
Plant propagation. 
Forage crops, legumes. 
Horses. 



Trees, tree planting. 
Plant growth. 
Drainage, irrigation. 
Soil fertility. 
Orchard fruits. 
Sheep. 

Weeds, weed studies 
Observation lessons. 
Breeds, breeding. 
Cattle — beef, dairy. 
Gardening. 
Feeds, feeding. 
Marketing. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Soil composition. 
Seed-bed preparation. 
Plant enemies. 
Exhibits, fairs. 
Fruits, nuts. 
Humus soil. 
Roots, stems. 
Harvesting. 
Livestock. 
Spraying. 
Milk testing. 
Storing, curing. 
School gardens. 
Collected specimens. 



Capillarity of soil. 
Grains, grain studies. 
Domestic animals. 
Crop rotation. 
Soil elements. 
Insect enemies. 
Milk, its care. 
Home gardens. 
Rust, smut, blight. 
Plowing. 

Expense problems. 
Animal characteristics. 
Oats. 
Grasses. 



Budding, grafting. 

Sanitation, cleanliness. 

Soil improvement. 

Transplanting. 

Corn judging. 

Fruit varieties. 

Vegetable gardens. 

Apples. 

Uses of animals. 

Wheat. 

Drawing, drawings. 

Shrubbery. 

Study of tools. 



100 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Bees, honey. 
Eggs, their care. 
Fruit growing. 
Garden planning. 
Roads, road building. 
Pasturing, grazing. 
Life histoiy of animals. 
Varieties of corn. 
Incubating, hatching. 
Grading, scoring. 
Seed structure. 
Soil weight. 
Economy in buying. 
Flies, mosquitoes. 
Control of insects. 
Seed purity. 
Tomatoes. 
Poultry houses. 



Picture study. 
Soil acidity. 
Plants and osmosis. 
Judging products. 
Seed identification. 
Seed vitality. 
Seed dispersion. 
Bacteria, nodules. 
Farm library. 
Diseases of animals. 
Animal habits. 
Cutting of plants. 
Small fruits. 
Barley, rye. 
Lime, its uses. 
Making surveys. 
Nursery stock. 
Excursions, field trips. 



Plant structure. 
Birds. 

Water studies. 
Hotbed, coldframe. 
Crop production cost. 
Tree pruning. 
Sales, profits. 
Classification of animals. 
Farm management. 
Air composition. 
Yields, prices. 
Type forms. 
Milk composition. 
Destroying weeds. 
Fungicides. 

Farm machines, imple- 
ments. 
Balanced rations. 
Accounts, records. 

All the topics in the list above may be arranged in groups under 
the following heads. Figures indicate the number of topics in each 
group. 

1. Plant culture, 64 topics or 47 per cent of all topics: 

(a) Farm crops, 26-grain, grain studies, 7; hay and forage, 6; garden prod- 
ucts, 3; fruit growing, 8; other crops, 2. 
(6) Tree culture, shrubbery, 5. 

(c) Weeds, weed studies, 2. 

(d) Seeds, seed studies, 2. 

(e) Plant enemies and diseases. 

(/) Plant physiology and propagation, 6. 
(g) Soils, soil studies, 12.' 

w 

2. Animal husbandry, 27 topics, or 20 per cent of all topics: 

(a) Cattle, dairying, 5. 
(6) Other farm animals, 6. 

(c) Types and uses of animals, 7. 

(d) Feeds, feeding, 2. 

(e) Birds, bees, insects, 6. 

3. Farm management and improvement, 36 topics, or 27 per cent of all topics: 

(a) Garden management, 6. 
(6) Crop production, 6. 

(c) Fertilization and drainage, 5. 

(d) Marketing, 4. 

(c) Farm building, 3. 

(/) Farm machinery, 2. 

(g) Accounting, 6. 

(h) Good roads, farm sanitation, farm survey, 1 each. 

4. Plans and methods of teaching, 9 topics, or 6 per cent of all topics. 



INDUSTRY AND ART COURSES. 101 

There are some valuable topics among those appearing in fewer 
than 14 courses, depending upon their local adaptation. Dry land 
farming, silos and silage, grape culture, and corn clubs are topics of 
this nature. Other topics, such as social center, crop surveys, farm 
economy and farm planning, are adapted for general use in most rural 
schools in all parts of the United States. 

Suggestive topics of a more general nature are: 

Cover crops, fruit preservation, vines and vine crops, bulbs and roots, seed clean- 
ing, fungus plants, molds and mildews, subsoiling, turkeys and geese, butterflies 
and moths, household pests, insecticides, building materials, knots and knot tying, 
fences and fencing, lawns and yards, flower gardens, inventories, keeping records, 
farmers' organizations, score cards and scoring, farm surveys. 

State courses usually provide one outline for each of the two high- 
est grades, the courses alternating by years. It is only one step 
further in grouping children in grades five to eight into one class, 
providing an outline for each of the four years on different phases of 
agriculture and rotating these outlines over a period of four years. 
The idea is to teach nothing in elementary agriculture in the one- 
teacher school more than once in four years. The four subjects 
rotated are: Growing things, making things, live things, and soil and 
home. It is claimed that the plan changes disorganized schools into 
beehives of activity, arouses tremendous community interest in 
schools, puts life into the school, teaches children in the language they 
can best understand, and results in numerous petitions to have the 
plan continued. 1 If it does all these things, it can not replace the 
textbook method of teaching any too soon. The plan has appeared 
as a fully organized course in Missouri (1919), and in parts of Okla- 
homa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. 

Another plan that has been fostered to vitalize teaching in rural 
schools is to provide pupils' survey outlines upon selected topics, 
such as poultry, cattle, corn, or roads. Under the direction of the 
teacher pupils gather the data, assemble them, and utilize the find- 
ings in innumerable ways in the various school subjects. The success- 
lul operation of school agricultural surveys has intensified interest in 
school work and aroused whole communities into active cooperation 
for school and community betterment. 

Collection of materials locally is needed to permit the study of 
things by direct observation. Courses of study should contain lists of 
suggestive equipment for ready reference. Agricultural bulletins and 
circulars are prominently mentioned. Care should be taken to rec- 
ommend those available bulletins that give valuable information and 
which are within the comprehension of children using them. Circu- 
lars on the use of certain bulletins in schools are especially valuable. 

1 Holden, The Rotation Plan. The International Harvester Co., Chicago. 



102 



STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS. 

This subject includes cooking and sewing, which are equally promi- 
nent in the curriculum, and household management, mentioned in 
only a few courses. 

Four-fifths of the State courses provide outlines in the subject. 
Like agriculture, household arts is an upper-grade subject. In one- 
teacher schools the work may well be alternated by years. 

There is little agreement as to what constitutes the chief aims in 
household arts. Ability in solving the simpler problems of plain 
cooking and sewing and of home making is mentioned most fre- 
quently. To this may be added habits of thrift and of health and 
the development of business ability. 

The only feasible method of teaching cooking in one-teacher schools 
appears to be through the hot lunch and home projects. Sewing 
and household management can be taught at irregular periods, 
through contests, home projects, and correlation with other subjects. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HOUSEHOLD ARTS. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OP THE COURSES. 



Cooking practice. 
Study of stitches. 



Patching, mending. 
Hemming. 



Darning stockings. 
Apron making. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Fruits, nuts. 
Serving meals. 
Milk studies. 
Study of meats. 
Study of potatoes. 
Eggs and their care. 
Cake baking. 
Food, food values. 



Recipes, menus. 
Breakfast foods. 
Canning* 
Study of soups. 
Study of sugar. 
Study of vegetables. 
Backstitching. 



Running stitches. 
Cotton, cotton cloth. 
Overcasting stitches. 
Garment making. 
Cutting, fitting. 
Buttonhole making. 
Repairing cloth. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Food preparation. 

Study of salads. 

Needlework. 

Wool, woolens. 

Weaving. 

Bread, bread baking. 
*Setting tables. 

Preserving. 

Coffee, tea. 
^Household management 

Cooking rice. 

Leveling agents. 

Puddings. 
* Topics marked with a star 



Preparing sauces. 
Patterns. 

Overhauling garments. 
Sewing on buttons. 
French seams. 
Baking. 

Food composition. 
Food preservation. 
Biscuit baking. 
Beverages. 
Boiling. 

Gathering stitches. 
Sewing machine. 
(*) pertain to home making. 



Towel making. 

Bed making. 

Embroidery. 

Making clothing for self. 

Study of seams. 
^Laundering. 

Frying of fish. 
*Kitchen utensils. 

School lunches. 

Fats, oils. 

Jellies, jams, -butters. 

Fancy stitches. 

Chain stitches. 



INDUSTBY AND ART COURSES. 103 

APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES — Continued. 



Workbag making. 
^Designing, decorating. 
Linens. 

Buttonhole stitches. 
Cross-stitches. 



Use of sewing tools. 
Textiles. 

Correlated subjects. 
Sewing by hand. 
Undergarment making. 



*House cleaning. 

Pillowcase making. 

Baking muffins. 

Candy, fudge. 
*Neatness, cleanliness. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent of 
the courses : 

Cooking : Preparing foods., drying, flavors and extracts, garnishing, pickling, roast- 
ing, seasoning, stewing, cereal dishes, planning meal3, digestibility of foods, economy 
in buying and serving, abbreviations, exact measurements, table etiquette, tray serv- 
ing, table linen, dish washing, tireless cooker. 

Sewing : Matching goods, crocheting, dyeing, knitting, knot tying, lace making, 
sewing on buttons, trimming, taking measurements, removing stains, sponging and 
pressing, simple elements of millinery. 

Household management: House planning, home furnishings, study of furniture, 
home conveniences, housekeeping rules, building fires, sweeping and dusting, 
household accounts, ventilation, care of garbage, home nursing, entertaining guests. 

Household arts is rich with teaching materials. The State courses 
contain 337 topics. One-fourth of these are contained in the list of 
frequently mentioned topics above. Some of the most suggestive 
topics appearing less frequently are also given. 

Courses of study contain the names of a very large number (407) 
of prepared foods and recipes for their preparation. Many sewing 
articles (60) are also mentioned. 

A valuable part of a household-arts course is a list of the equip- 
ment for cooking and sewing needed to carry out its provisions 
intelligently. It is advisable to make this list suggestive only, as 
allowance should be made for local adaptation. 

MANUAL ARTS. 

This subject, which in the survey includes industrial arts for lower 
grades and manual training for upper grades, holds a very unimpor- 
tant position in State courses in the amount of space (Table 10) and 
of program time (Table 6) allotted to it. 

Courses of study are greatly lacking in aims for industrial arts. 
Those mentioned for manual training overemphasize skill and excel- 
lency in workmanship, at the expense of ability to do things in line 
with construction and repair work on the farm. 

The aims appearing most frequently may be summarized as follows : 

Train hands for efficiency and skill in workmanship. 

Impart valuable and useful information. 

Vitalize and enrich other subjects. 

Prepare for life through life's activities. 

Secure the economic and social values of this subject. 

Cause children to appreciate good workmanship. 

Dignify all useful labor. 



* Topics marked with a star (*) pertain to home making. 



104 



STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 



The industrial and seat- work outlines are, in some courses, independ- 
ent of and irrelated to the regular work of children in other subjects. 
This has doubtless been a contributing factor to much valueless seat 
work in one-teacher schools. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MANUAL ARTS. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 29 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



*Wood and bench work. 
Construction work. 
Paper cutting and folding. 



Measurements, measuring. 
Illustrating stories. 



Drawing. 
Use of tools. 



Building activities. 
Representative construc- 
tion. 
Designing. 
Accuracy. 
*Weaving. 
Handwork. 

Fruit, vegetable drawing. 
Neatness, cleanliness. 
Caring for tools. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 

*Cardboard construction. 
Animal and people draw- 
ings. 



Orderly sequence of work. 
Industrial problems. 
Basketry. 
Repairing. 
Models, modeling. 
Sharpening tools. 
Form, proportion. 
Study of tools. 
Sketching, freehand. 
Seasonal projects. 

The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses: 



Correlated subjects. 
*Reed and raffia work. 
*Clay modeling. 

Decorative construction. 

Nailing. 



Braiding, knotting, mending harness, assembling and fitting, filling and gluing, 
sandpapering, sawing, waxing, lettering, scale drawing, working drawing, painting, 
blue prints, staining, *bookbinding, *cement, *leather work, ^joining, *whittling, 
and knife work. 

One-half of the topics are concerned with making things. Those 
having to do with industrial arts are found chiefly in lower grades, 
while manual training topics are found in upper grades. 

The names of 302 different articles to make are given in manual 
arts courses. Articles mentioned most frequently may be made 
chiefly from cardboard and construction paper in lower grades and 
from lumber in upper grades. The utilitarian purpose is more promi- 
nent in upper grades than in lower grades. 

A suggestive list of tools and materials needed to make the things 

mentioned in the outlines is considered a useful part of the course of 

study. 

DRAWING. 

The value of drawing has been increased through emphasis upon 
design or orderly arrangement. This subject has a contribution to 
make to school activities that is very worth while. Courses of study 
would have children study drawing to train ^hem in expression, in 



* Topics marked with a star (*) are offered in 156 city systems. Study made by Park and Barlau 
and reported in Bu. of Educ. Bui., No. 32, 1916. 



INDUSTRY AND ART COURSES. 



105 



observation, and in appreciation of the beautiful, as is made evident 
by the following summary of most frequently mentioned aims : 

Ability to appreciate the beautiful. 

Develop the powers of close observation. 

Ability to express the beautiful intelligently. 

Ability in freehand drawing. 

Train senses, mind, and hand to work together. 

Cultivate taste for the beautiful in design and in the industrial world. 

Enrich other school subjects. 

Know and enjoy good pictures. 

A great variety of topics are given. It is difficult to classify them. 
About one-third refer to things to be drawn. Several industrial arts 
topics are prominent. To avoid extensive repetition, it is advisable to 
select a few leading topics, differing in kind, for the basis of each 
year's work. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DRAWING. 

Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OF THE COURSES. 



Designs, designing. 
Illustrative drawing. 
Fruits, nuts. 
Color studies. 



Object drawing. 
Mass, grouping. 
Landscapes. 
Flowers, buds. 



Decorative drawing. 
Leaves, leaf drawing. 
Tree studies, forests. 
Animal drawings. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Vegetables. 
Perspective drawing. 
Tone relations, shading. 
Construction drawing. 
Borders. 



Birds, butterflies. 
Stems, twigs. 
Geometric shapes, forms. 
Christmas drawings. 
Paper cutting and folding. 



Calendars. 
Color schemes. 
Painting lessons. 
Lines, rulings. 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



Seasonal topics. 
Grass, grass blades. 
Toys, playthings. 
Lettering. 
Nature drawings. 
Books, boxes. 
Booklet covers. 
Blackboard drawings. 
Houses, buildings. 
Mountings, mounting 
drawings. 



Freehand drawing. 
Color combinations. 
Correlated subjects. 
Models, modeling. 
Washington's Birthday. 
Pose drawing. 
Thanksgiving Day. 
Halloween drawings. 
Seeds, seed pods. 
Mats, rugs. 
Correlated geography. 



Easter drawings. 
Using materials, tools. 
Proportions. 
Action drawing. 
May baskets. 
Outline drawing. 
Drawing display. 



The following suggestive topics appear in fewer than 40 per cent 
of the courses: 

Basketry, clay modeling, brush drawing, caste or sculpture work, color harmony, 
color designing, matching colors, tints and shades, molding and shaping, master 
pieces in art, drawing to scale, spacing, printing, silhouette work, sketching, valen- 
tines, stenciling, still life, weaving, working drawings. 
23606—23 8 



106 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

It is desirable for a course in drawing to include a suggestive list 
of standard materials and equipment needed to carry out its pro- 
visions. 

MUSIC. 

In every schoolroom on every day a school is in session there 
should be some music. A morning song has much to do in creating 
a good spirit for both work and play. The importance of music is 
not measured by the length of its outlines (Table 12). 

In one-teacher schools it is generally better to have but one class 
for whatever instruction is offered in music. 

The dominant aim is to cultivate a love for music, while securing 
an understanding needed to appreciate it. Practice gives prominence 
to the following aims for teaching music : 

Enjoy singing — a pleasing diversion and relaxation. 
Cultivate an appreciation for good music. 
Develop a pleasing, musical, expressive voice. 
Develop the power of reading simple music at sight. 
Develop the power to observe. 
Develop a good school and community spirit. 
Develop the rhythmic instinct and musical sense. 

Music, like drawing, is a curriculum of activities. It consists (1) of 
the singing of childhood and community songs and (2) of training 
children to read music. It is not generally advisable for the latter to 
be undertaken by teachers who have not the necessary preparation. 
Outlines for two or three groups of children in one-teacher schools 
are needed only for those schools where children are taught to read 
music. 

Thirty-five of the 56 topics in the survey list have to do with learn- 
ing to read music. The relatively shorter outlines and fewer topics 
for upper grades indicate that State courses would have this ability 
acquired by the end of the fifth year. 

TOPICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MUSIC. 
Arranged in Order of Their Frequency of Appearance in 35 State Courses of Study. 

APPEARING IN 80 PER CENT OR MORE OP THE COURSES. 



*Singing rote songs. 
*Phrasing, phrase singing. 
*Musical terms, characters. 



*Notes, tone pictures. 
*SyIlable (reading) names. 
*Key signatures. 



*Staff lessons. 
*Two-part exercises. 



APPEARING IN 60 TO 80 PER CENT OF THE COURSES. 



*Measures. 

*Time, time problems. 

*Correct rhythm, accent 

Ear training. 
*Sight reading. 

* Topics marked with a star (*) have to do with learning to read music. 



*Scale names (figures). 
*Keeping time. 

Melodies, singing of. 

Voice training. 
*Pitch of notes. 



*Tone quality (pleasing) . 
*Clef signature. 
*Rests. 
*Intervals, skips. 



INDUSTRY AND ART COURSES. 



107 



APPEARING IN 40 TO 60 PER CENT OP THE COURSES. 



of 



*Neutral syllable singing. 

Singing for pupils. 
*Major scale. 

Written musical exercises. 
*Tone relations. 
*Scale ladder, circle 

keys. 
*Tone drills. 
*Three-part exercises. 

Familiar songs. 

Imitation in singing. 
*Minor scales. 



*Bars for staff. 

Expression. 

Breathing exercises. 

Rote songs at first. 

Imitating sounds in 
ture. 
*Tie, slur. 
*Lines, spaces. 
*National son<rs 
hymns. 

Choruses, group singing 

Community singing. 



and 



Individual singing. 
*Chromatic scale. 
*Sharps and flats. 

Rounds. 

Memorizing songs. 

Correct position, posture. 

1'ictation exercises. 
"Scale work, scale songs. 

Blackboard lessons. 

Folk songs and dances. 
* Pitch names (letters). 

Patriotic songs. 

Rhythmic exercises. 

A suggestive list of familiar songs, songs for children, and com- 
munity songs are made a part of several courses of study. These 
songs should be selected with care, and so far as possible made avail- 
able to the schools. A large number of the songs recommended are 
not found in some of the popular community and school song books. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following principles of guidance for the improvement of in- 
dustry and art courses for rural schools are suggested : 

(a) Outlines in agriculture provided for grades five to eight. Distribution of the 
•work in such a way as to make possible alternation or rotation of grade outlines. 

(6) Household arts and manual arts correlated with agriculture for the upper 
grades. 

(c) Industrial arts correlated with nature study in the four lower grades. 

(d) General outlines in drawing and music provided with adequate differentiation 
of work to mark stages of progress. 

(e) The amount of time and attention given industrial subjects increased. 

(/) Live, motivated aims for each subject supplied and set out from the main body 
of the outline as important considerations. 

(g) The work of industrial subjects organized about projects and problems. 

(h) The work made to center around home industries and farm problems vital to 
the life of the representative regions of the State. 

(i) The use of school agricultural surveys encouraged, emphasizing the utilization 
of data collected. 

( j) The most useful tools, equipment, and bulletins necessary for the teaching of 
industrial arts listed with the outlines in the course of study. 

(k) The use of standard community songs encouraged. 



Topics marked with a star (*) have to do with learning to read music. 



Chapter XL 
BOOKS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS. 



Survey reports show that in many schools the textbooks in use 
are the real courses of study. Young and inexperienced teachers 
often follow the textbooks rather than the course of study. Progress 
would be most rapid, in all probability, if more textbooks were made 
in harmony with course-of-study provisions, and if more than one 
text were provided, as in the case of primary readers. 

State courses contain the titles of many books (4,172) and bulle- 
tins. The very abundance of books and materials makes the question 
of wise selection problematic. It reflects the present tendency of 
directing teachers away from the exclusive use of textbooks to the 
intelligent use of many good library and reference books. 

Seventy per cent of the 3,188 library books mentioned are given 
in connection with reading and language (1,178), history (959), and 
geography (380). In these subjects in particular, children need an 
extensive and varied reading experience. 

Relatively few library books are mentioned in all but the four 
subjects just named. One book in four mentioned in courses of study 
is a textbook. The need for adequate selection of textbooks in these 
subjects is, therefore, especially great. There are needed spellers 
with most carefully selected vocabularies; handwriting books that 
guide both teacher and children; rural arithmetics; books with 
many good games fully explained; books in agriculture, household 
arts, and manual arts, with many suggested problems and selected 
projects adapted to local conditions; industrial drawing books; and 
community song books. 

For library books, in addition to the four subjects containing a 
high percentage of recommendations, there are needed civics readers, 
health readers, books containing valuable lessons in home making 
and character building, nature readers, farm-life books and agricul- 
tural readers, and industrial readers. 

Titles of a large number (1,753) of shorter selections appeared in 

reading and language outlines. These are for more intensive study 

in regular class work. A large number are poems. Some of the 

poems are suggested for memorization in connection with language. 

108 



BOOKS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS. 



109 



The titles of many library books appear in both city and rural 
courses of study. In checking the list of titles compiled from State 
courses (not included in this publication) with the lists of titles con- 
tained in city courses, 1 it was found that city courses assign about 
one-half (54 per cent) of the same books to a grade higher than is 
assigned by rural courses. Assignments in rural courses often provide 
readings too difficult for many rural children. 

A school library can scarcely be considered complete without 
several of the best professional books for teachers, as suggested by 
549 titles appearing in the courses of study. 

Nor would a school library be complete without a large dictionary, 
a work of reference consisting of relatively few volumes, with easy 
and interesting reading material for children, and several of the best 
school magazines. 

The problems of making an adequate number of the best books 
available to the schools and of securing constant and intelligent use 
of them should be given larger attention in courses of study. 

Table 24. — Number of books and reading materials xuhose titles appear in 44 State 

courses of study. 



Subjects. 



Texts. 



Library- 
books. 



Total. 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Handwriting 

Arithmetic 

History 

Civics 

Manners and morals . 

Geography 

Hygiene 

Physical education . . 

Nature study 

Agriculture 

Household arts 

Manual arts 

Drawing 

Music 



305 
84 
35 
7 

102 
88 
53 
11 
41 
73 



1,178 

C 1 ) 

2 

11 

6 

959 

7 

22 

380 

29 

51 

152 

114 

85 

71 

25 

96 



Total 

Teachers 

Reading selections. 



3,188 



1,753 



1,483 

84 

37 

18 

108 

1,047 

60 

33 

421 

102 

51 

184 

161 

110 

101 

40 

132 



4,172 

549 

1,753 



1 In reading and language, 1,178 books. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The following principles of guidance for improving courses of study 
with regard to books and reference materials are suggested: 

(a) Those textbooks selected that most nearly meet the conditions of a modern 
standard course of study. 

•Bobbitt, Boyce, and Perkins, "Literature in the Elementary Curriculum." Fifty city courses. 
Klementary Sen. Jour., vol. 13, pp. 158-166. (Dec, 1913.) 

Munson and Hoskinson, " Library and Supplementary Reading Books Recommended for use in 
Elementary Schools." Thirty-six city courses and 14 State courses. Sixteenth Yearbook of the 
National Society for the Study *>f Education, Part I, pp. 33-59. 



110 STATE COUESES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

(b) Those supplementary textbooks and library books in various grades and 
subjects selected that give teachers largest assistance in carrying out the provisions 
of the course of study. 

(c) Constant reference made to books selected at suitable points in the outlines. 

(d) Specific and definite directions given for the intelligent use of textbooks and 
library. 

(e) Books and materials assigned which are on a level with the experience and 
attainments of children in various grades and classes. 

(/) Consciousness of the importance of making many books, bulletins, and 
magazines available to children and on making constant and intelligent use of all 
available material. 

(g) Selection of a minimal number of the shorter reading selections for careful 
study by all children. Selection of the finest literary gems and poems that may be 
recommended for memorization. 

(/*) Selection of those professional books that are most helpful to the average 
teacher using them. 

(i) Consciousness of the importance of giving children a wide reading experience , 
particularly in subjects that have large content value. 



REFERENCE LIST. 



Andreas, J. Mace. Health education in rural schools. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1919. 321 p. 
Chapter 6 describes a plan for the course of study in hygiene. 

The teaching of hygiene in the grades. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918. 176 p. 

An excellent treatment on methods of teaching. 
Ashbaugh, E. J. Handwriting of Iowa school children. Iowa City, Iowa., 1916. 24 p. (University of 

Iowa. Extension Bulletin no. 15.) 
Bailey, L. H. The nature study idea. New York, The Macmillan Co., 1909. 246 p. 
Barnes, Walter. English in the country schools. Chicago, Row, Peterson Co., 1913. 286 p. 

Contains many suggestions on the teaching of reading, language, and spelling in rural schools. 
Betts. George E. Classroom method and management. Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1917. 386 p. 
This book contains excellent chapters on aims, methods, ar>d selection of teaching materials. The 
following chapters are important: 
Chapter 7, Subject matter of education, p. 79-100. 
Chapter 8, The organization of subject matter, p. 100-113. 

Chapters 10 to 20, on the school subjects reading, spelling, language, arithmetic, geography, history, 
civics, physiology and hygiene, penmanship, agriculture, and home economics. 

Social principles of education. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912. 318 p. 

Chapter 9 deals with the curriculum. 

and Hall, Otis S. Better rural schools. Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merill Co., 1914. 512 p. 

The curriculum of the rural school, part 11. The book also contains a good chapter on correlation, 
p. 77-93. 
Bobbitt, Franklin. The curriculum. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918. 295 p. 
A most scientific treatment of what to teach. The social point of view. 

" Reading materials in the elementary schools of Indianapolis." In Elementary School Journal, 

13: 665-688, 741-761, May, June, 1919. 

What the schools teach and might teach. New York, Russell Sage Foundation. 1915. 108 p. 

One of the sections of the report of the Educational survey of Cleveland, Ohio. 

■ Boyce, A. O, and Perkins, M. L. " Literature in the elementary curriculum." In Elementary 

School Journal, 13: 158-166, Dec, 1913. 
Graded list of books appearing in city and state courses. 
Boy Scouts of America. Seventh annual report. 144 p. 

The Scout oath, p. 9-10. 
California. State Board of Education. Suggestions for the teaching of good manners in the elementary 
schools. 1916. 39 p. (Bulletin no. 18.) 

The teaching of music in the rural elementary schools. 4 p. (Bulletin no. 15.) 

Charters, W. W. Teaching common branches. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1913. 355 p. 

This book contains a chapter on 14 of the common-school subjects. The only subjects in this sur- 
vey not treated in the book are household arts, manual arts, and manners and morals. 
Coffman, L. D. "The war and the curriculum." In Educational Administration and Supervision, 
4: 10-23, Jan., 1918. 
An excellent article on curriculum changes incident to the war. 
Cubberley, Elwood P. Public education in the United States. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1919. 
517 p. 

A study of the more important present-day problems in public education in the United States in 
the light of their historic past. 
Chapter 10, The reorganization of elementary education, p. 285-322. 

Rural life and education. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914. 367 p. 

Chapter 9, The teaching equipment, p. 206-226. 
Chapter 11, A new curriculum, p. 256-283. 
Curtis, Henry S. The reorganized school playground. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1913. 28 p. 
(U. S. Bureau of Education. Bulletin no. 40.) 

Ill 



112 STATE COURSES OF STUDY FOR RURAL SCHOOLS. 

Delaware Public School Commission. Public education in Delaware. Report. New York, General 
Education Board. 1919. 202 p. 

Chapter 5, The present school system; chapter 6, The teachers; chapter 7, The schools and their 
work. 
Dewey, Evelyn. New schools for old. New York, E. P. Dutton Co., 1919. 337 p. 
Two chapters are especially worthy of mention: 
Chapter 10, Agriculture and the curriculum, p. 252-293. 
Chapter 11, Place of reading and writing in the curriculum, p. 293-322. 
Engleman, J. O. Moral education in school and home. New York, Benj. H. Sanborn Co., 1918. 314 p. 
Farnum, R. B. Present status of drawing and art in elementary and secondary schools of the United 
States. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1914. 375 p. (U. S. Bureau of Education. Bulletin 
no. 13.) 
Aims and scope in art teaching, p. 25-36. 
Foght, H. W. The American rural school. New York, Macmillan Co., 1910. 361 p. 
A suggestive earlier treatise on problems pertaining to rural education. 

The rural teacher and his work. New York, Macmillan Co., 1917. 359 p. 

Part 3, The teacher as maker of the revitalized course of study, p. 225-345. 

An excellent discussion of the curriculum for rural schools, with emphasis en the new subjects, 
including manual arts and home economics. 
Hart, Joseph K. Educational resources of village and rural communities. New York, Macmillan Co., 
1913, 279 p. 
Chapter 15, Community life as the curriculum of the school, p. 213-244. 
Hill, Mabel. The teaching of civics. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1914. 145 p. 

An excellent treatise on the best methods of teaching civics. A number of the topics in the survey 
list are treated separately. 
Holden, P. H. The rotation plan. Chicago, International Harvester Co., 1919. 21 p. 

A bulletin on what the rotation plan for the teaching of agriculture is and what it does. 
Illinois Teachers' Association. Illinois school survey. 1917. 377 p. 
Survey of the rural schools, p. 276-377 

Second report of the Committee on Elimination of Subject Matter. 1916. 152 p. 

Jessup, W. A. " Economy of time in arithmetic. " In Elementary School Teacher, 14: 461-576, Juno, 

1914. 
Judd, C. H. Introduction to the scientific study of education. Boston, Ginn & Co., 1918. 333 p. 

Chapters 8, 9, 11, and 14 contain valuable suggestions regarding the curriculum. 
Kendall, C. N., and Stryker, Florence E. History in the elementary school. Boston, Houghton Mifflin 
Co., 1918. 134 p. 
An excellent treatment on methods of teaching history. 

and Mirick, Geo. A. How to teach the fundamental subjects. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 

1915. 329 p. 
Chapters on English, mathematics, geography, history, civics, and hygiene. 

How to teach the special subjects. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918. 305 p. 

Chapters on music, physical education, drawing, nature study, and agriculture. 
Lathrop, Edith A. " Status of standardization of the rural schools of the United States.." In Univer- 
sity of Virginia. Record Extension Series. Vol. 5, no. 2, p. 16-23, Nov., 1919. 
Leiper, M. A. Teaching language through agriculture and domestic science. Washington, Gov't Print- 
ing Office, 1912. 30 p. (U. S. Bureau of Education. Bulletin no. 18.) 
Lyford, Carrie A. Three short courses in home making. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1917. 104 p. 

(U. S Bureau of Education. Bulletin no. 23.) 
McFee, Inez N. The teacher, the school and the community. Cincinnati, American Book Company, 
. 1918. 256 p. 

Contains suggestions on the teaching of reading, language, arithmetic, history, geography, hygiene, 
nature study, agriculture, and home science. 
McMurry, Charles. Teaching by projects. New York, Macmillan Co. 1920. 257 p. 

" Principles for making and judging a curriculum in geography." In Teachers College Record, 16; 

p. 317-320, Sept., 1915. 
The Montana rural and city courses in geography are based on McMurry's principles. 

"Uniform curriculum and examinations." In Journal of Proceedings and Addresses, National 

Education Asseoiation, July, 1913, p. 131-159. 
Maryland Educational Survey Commission. Public education in Maryland. 1916. 230 p. 

Chapter 6, The teachers; chapter 8, Instruction. 
Minnesota Educational Association. Elimination in elementary course of study. 1914. 15 p. 
Monroe, W. S. Second and third annual reports of the Bureau of Educational Measurements and Stand- 
ards, Vol. 6, no. 7, SO p. Bureau of Educational Measurements and Standards. Kansas State Nor- 
mal School, Emporia. 1917. 
Considers reading, spelling, handwriting, and arithmetic. 



KEFERENCE LIST. 113 

National Institute for Moral Instruction, "Washington, D. C. Children's code of morals for elementary 

schools. 4 p. 
National Society for the Study of Education. Minimal essentials in elementary school subjects. Year- 
Books. 
Keports en concrete effort to determine relative values in all elementary school subjects. 

First report. 152 p. Fourteenth Year-Book, part 1, 1915. 

Reports on reading, handwriting, spelling, composition and grammar, arithmetic, geography, 
history and literature. 

Second report. 192 p. Sixteenth Year-Book, part 1, 1917. 

Reports on reading, handwriting, spelling, language, arithmetic, history, and physical education. 

Third report. 134 p. Seventeenth Year-Book, part 1, 1918. 

Reports on arithmetic, geography, reading, composition, civics, and history. 

Fourth report. 123 p. Eighteenth Year-Book, part 11, 1919. 

Reports on principles of method in teaching reading, spelling, arithmetic, and writing as derived 
from scientific investigations. Drawing and music are also considered. 

The measurement of educational products. 194 p. Seventeenth Year-Book, part 11, 1918. 

Nolan, A. W. The teaching of agriculture. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918. 277 p. 

Contains an outline course of nature study and agriculture for the grades. 
Ohio State School Survey Commission Report. 1914. 308 p. 

Chapter 7, Classroom instruction. 106-156 p. 
Park, J. C, and Barlan, C. L. Some facts concerning manual arts and home making subjects in 156 
cities. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1916. 28 p. (U. S. Bureau of Education. Bulletin no. 
32.) 
Quick, Herbert. The brown mouse. Indianapolis, Bobs-Merrill Co., 1915. 310 p. 
Rapeer, L. W., and others. Teaching elementary school subjects. New York, Charles Scribners Sons, 
1917. 569 p. 
This book contains chapters on each of the 17 school subjects included in this survey. 
P.owell, P. C. "The status of science teaching in the elementary schools of the United States." In 

Elementary School Teacher, 13: 387-404. 
Saint Louis, Mo. Department of Instruction. Moral education in the elementary schools. 1918. 20 p. 

Contains an excellent article on the teaching of morals through all school activities. 
Sears, J. B. Classroom organization and control. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918. 295 p. 

Part 2, The machinery and the process, p. 109-227. Excellent chapters on the school curriculum 
and the daily program. 
Tidyman, W. F. The teaching of spelling. Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y., World Book Co., 1919. 178 p. 
One of the best recent summaries of scientific investigations of spelling, and their interpretation 
for methods and materials. 
Trafton, G. H. The teaching of science in the elementary schools. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918, 
288 p. 

Part 1, chapter 2, gives aims in teaching science, and chapver 3 a discusion of the materials and 
their correlation. 
United States. Department of Agriculture. Correlating agriculture with the public-school subjects of 
the Northern States. 42 p. Correlating agriculture with the public-school subjects of the Southern 
States. 41 p. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1915; (Bulletin, nos. 281 and 132, 1915.) 
United States. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Education. A survey of the educational insti- 
tutions of the State of Washington. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1916. 211 p. (Bulletin 
no. 26, 1916.) 
Section 2, General review of the public-school S5 r stem, p. 125-165. 

An educational study of Alabama. W T ashington, Gov't Printing Office, 1919. 

(Bulletin no. 41, 1919.) 

■ An educational survey of a suburban and rural count} 7 . Washington, Gov't Printing 



Office, 1913. 64 p. (Bulletin no. 32.) 
Chapter 2, Educational conditions, p 3-51. 

Educational conditions in Arizona. Report of a survey. Washington, Gov't Printing 



Office, 1917. (Bulletin no. 44, 1917.) 
Chapter 2 contains a survey of rural schools. 
Educational conditions in Arizona. Report of a survey. Washington, Gov't Print- 
ing Office, 1917. (Bulletin no. 44.) 
Chapter 2 contains a survey of rural schools. 

Educational survey of Wyoming. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1916. 120 p. 



(Bulletin no. 29, 1916.) 
( haptcr 2, Education in the United States, p. 27-65. 

Report of an inquiry into the administration and support of the Colorado school 



system. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1917. 93 p. (Bulletin no. 5, 1917.) 
Chapter 5, The administration of school instruction, p. 47-92. 



114 STATE COURSES OE STUDY FOR RURAL, SCHOOLS. 

United States. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Education. The educational system of South 
Dakota. Washington. Gov't Printing Office, 1918. 304 p. (Bulletin no. 31, 1918.) 

Chapter 12, Course of study for rural schools, p. 79-89; chapter 14, Instruction and supervision in 
rural schools, p. 112-135. 

The rural teacher of Nebraska. Washington, Gov't Printing Office, 1919. 67 p. 

(Bulletin no. 20, 1919.) 
Chapter 3, Education, p. 30-38. 
Virginia Educational Commission. Public-schools survey and report. 1919. 400 p. 
Wilson, H. B., and Wilson, G. M. Motivation of school work. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1916. 
256 p. 
Excellent chapters on the motivation of reading, language, history, geography, and arithmetic. 
Woofter, T. J. Teaching in rural schools. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1917. 315 p. 

Section 11 deals with the teaching of elementary school subjects. All of the school subjects usually 
taught in rural schools are reviewed in detail as to methods and materials. 
Yocum, A. D. "The determination of the course of study." In Journal of Proceedings and Addresses, 
National Education Association, 1914, p. 223-235. 



INDEX. 



Agriculture, analytic survey, 98-101. 
Aims of the school, 11-12. 

Arithmetic, analytic survey, 74-77; recommendations, 77; relative prominence, 42-43. 
Art and industry, analytic survey, 98-107. 
Average course of study, 40-41. 

Books and reference materials, 108-114; recommendations, 109-110. 
Citizenship, analytic survey, 78-87; recommendations, 87. 
Civics, analytic survey, 83-85. 

Class periods, program of twenty-four, one-teacher schools, 27, 29.- 
Community activities, 15. 

Content materials, selection and correlation, 47-64; summary and recommendations, 62-64. 
Correlation, program, 60-62. 
Definition of good course of study, 6. 

Delaware, textbook more frequently used than State course, 4. 
Distribution of space, variable nature, 41-42. 
Domestic science. See Household arts. 
Dominant purpose of course of study, 17. 
Drawing, analytic survey, 104-106. 

Elementary school subjects, relative importance 32-46; summary and recommendations, 44-46. 
English courses, analytic survey, 65-73; recommendations, 73. 
Ethics. See Manners and morals. 
Functional value of courses in use, 3-5. 
Geography, analytic survey, 88-92. 

Grades, alternation and combination, one-teacher schools, 20-22. 
Handwriting, analytic survey, 72-73; relative prominence, 43. 
History, analytic survey, 78-S3. 
Household arts, analytic survey, 102-103. 
Hygiene, analytic survey, 92-94. 
Improving courses of study, 6-7. 

Industry and art, analytic survey, 98-107; recommendations, 107. 
Introductory curricula studies, 1-9; summary and recommendations, 15-17. 
Judd, C. H., on school curriculum, 6. 
Language, analytic survey, 67-70. 
Language and reading, relative prominence, 43. 
Letter of transmittal, in. 

McMurry, Frank, definition of good course of study, 6. 
Major problems covered by survey, 1. 
Manners and morals, analytic survey, 85-87. 
Manual arts, analytic survey, 103-104. 
Measuring length of courses of study, 33-34. 
Montana, standards useful to a teacher, 12-13. 
Music, analytic survey, 106-107. 
Nationalized curriculum, 7-8. 
Nature study, analytic survey, 95-97. 
Nonintelligent use of courses of study, 5-6. 

One-teacher schools, organization, 18-31; summary and recommendations, 29-31. 
Paintings, titles of reproductions appearing in courses of study, 70. 
Physical education, analytic survey, 94-95; relative prominence, 43. 
Plan of course of study, 13-14. 
Preparation of courses, 2-3. 

Program, average daily, one-teacher subjects, 22-23; model, one-teacher schools, 18-19. 
Reading, analytic survey, 65-67. 

Kecitation periods, average number of daily, one-teacher schools, 23; number of dailv, one-teacher schools 
19-20. 

115 



116 INDEX. 

Recitation time, distribution, one-teacher schools, 23-26. 

Science, analytic survey, 88-97; recommendations, 97. 

Sources of materials, 2. 

Space allotment, percentage, 38-40. 

Spelling, analytic survey, 70-71. 

Standardization of schools, 14-15. 

Subject space assigned to each grade, 37-38. 

Subjects, alternation and combination, one-teacher schools, 22; grade space assigned, 36-37; names for, 32; 
number of outlines provided, 33; number of pages allotted, 34-36; plan of grouping, 13; relative fre- 
quency of grade combinations, one-teacher schools, 20; relative importance, 32-46; relative promi- 
nence, 42-44. 

Subjects and topics, correlation, 58-60; grouping, 58; selecting and correlating, 47-64. 

Summary and recommendations, 15-17,29-31,44-46,62-64,73,77,87,97,107,109-110. 

Supplies and materials, 15. 

Teaching, standards forjudging, 12-13. 

Teaching and study, methods, 12. 

Textbooks, uniformity in following, 5-6. 

Topics, grade distribution, 54-57; number, 53-54; relationship of listed, 51-53; selection, 49-51; treated, 
10-11; types, 49. See also Subjects and topics. 

Uniform minimum curriculum for Nation, 9. 

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